For most Germans, if they well in school or learn a trade, and are willing to work hard and pay their dues, they will be rewarded with a conventional, comfortable lifestyle. They will have 6 weeks vacation, enjoy inexpensive holiday resorts, live in a comfortable if cramped flat, have paid medical care, and eventually mortgage themselves for fifty years to buy a house or their own flat. Und--they VILL enjoy it!

However, for those people living in the sections that were formerly communist East Germany, unemployment is higher, and all over Germany, if anyone has a dysfunctional family, or has some kind of problem, or just doesn't fit in, life can be very tough and very hopeless. This is the state that a lot of young people find themselves in, especially around Berlin, Halle, Magdeburg and other of the larger, more troubled German urban areas.

Now, this is the backdrop for Lola and her boyfriend Manni. Manni is beginning a promising career as a drug dealer, making his first score. He is on the point of delivering the bag of cash to the mob boss. Never mind that this little career move will most likely land him 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of being shunned and being practically unemployable; that is, if he survives the police hunt for his sorry arse. But Manni feels hopeless and trapped, so what's the risk? Lola, who comes from a wealthy but dysfunctional Berlin family, is needy and eager to help her Manni. Neither question the outcome of their actions.

Yes, they both goof up, Lola forgets her assignment and goes off for a pack of smokes, Manni panics and now his very life is on the line. And Lola volunteers to help, putting her life on the line, though she doesn't realize that she is in peril. She has twenty minutes to solve this life-and-death issue. And she DOES it, while filmed like a rock video in flashes, running like a madwoman through Berlin to get to the prize.

If you don't like the outcome, the inevitable, the sad, just wait a minute, the filmmaker, god that he is, can change all that for you. If you want a fairy godmother, he's prepared to be one for you. Just scream like an infant, as Lola does, and director Tom Tykwer will grant your wish. If you then don't like that particular wave of his magic wand, well, wait another minute. But don't look too closely, or you will see an accusation that actions DO have consequences.

Though filmed creatively and in burst-like flashes, the story is completely coherent and even has a moral, or two, or three.
As to the film itself, it is better letterboxed to appreciate the cinematography. The subtitles are accurate, though the swears and other nasty epithets are made a bit milder than actually they are in vernacular German--perhaps because they look pretty stark when printed rather than spoken. This is a film that is worth seeing quite a few times to pick up the nuances and missed frames--you can't blink for a second because you will miss something important.

HIGHLY Recommended --entertaining, yet good for family discussions about choices in life.


A Frenzied Masterpiece   May 31, 2000
 121 out of 139 found this review helpful

Run Lola Run is the type of frenzied arthouse picture that just doesn't get made here in North America. That's really a shame because Run Lola Run is definitley one of the best movies of the year. From a cinematic point of view "Lola" is one of the most creative and energetic films that I have ever seen.

The plot revolves around Lola, a woman who has twenty minutes to save her boyfriend's life from German gangsters. To do this she must miraculously acquire 100,000 Marks.

The film is appropriately titled as Lola really does run for practically the entire film. When she does not succeed in saving her boyfriend the movie cuts back to the opening sequence and the film plays out yet again in an entirely different fashion. The central idea is that small variations in behaviour can change the entire outcome of a situation. This idea was also explored in "Sliding Doors", unfortunately, with far more mixed results.

Eventually the cycle repeats itself three times over the movies one hour twenty minute screen time. Run Lola Run is just bubbling with creative ideas and really is a stunning ride. The action never really lets up (except in a brief bed scene) and is filmed in the kind of frenetic, crazy style that MTV would be proud of. Lola is also extremely funny in many parts especially when the film briefly delves into the future's of various small characters.

This is a perfect little film that stands up to repeated viewings. It is smart, entertaining and is something that is completely unique. Hollywood movies rarely have those three qualities, this German one does.


Sliding Doors Meets Trainspotting - Five Stars isn't enough!   June 9, 2000
 39 out of 41 found this review helpful

Catch this superb German film before Hollywood decides to remake it (and believe me, they will). This is cinema in its purest, most kinetic form.

The plot is simple: Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks that her boyfriend Manni owes to drug dealers, otherwise he's going to have to rob a store to get it. And that's it, basically. Only, ingeniously, we are treated to 3 versions of her run (or perhaps alternative universes), events unfolding differently depending on how long it takes her and the choices she makes. The attention to detail is stunning, and every little image and incident is relevant to the taut plotting. A wonderfully choreographed study of time and space.

What we have is a kind of Sliding Doors (or Fowles' French Lieutenant's Woman) meets Pulp Fiction with all the energy and modernity of Trainspotting, mixing drama, tragedy and dark humour. Run Lola Run is a whirlwind race against time as our flame-haired heroine pounds the sidewalks of Berlin, unknowingly initiating traffic accidents, bank heists, uncovering dark family secrets, and changing the lives of the people she encounters on her way (beautifully executed in a series of Polaroid montages) in a complex web of cause and effect.

Furiously paced, and edited, Twyker's masterpiece of Chance bombards us with an entire catalogue of camera tricks, techniques and mediums; split screen, time lapse, animation (in the cartoon sense), anything to grab our attention and immerse us in the situation, and is enhance by an excellent techno soundtrack (composed by Twyker).

Presented on DVD with a decent extras package, Run Lola Run is a rush - in every sense of the word - from start to finish. (Watch it in German with the English subtitles, however, as the dubbed English soundtrack is dire.)


Clearly the best movie of 1999.   January 9, 2000
 27 out of 35 found this review helpful

1999 was a good year for the movies. The Sixth Sense, the Blair Witch Project, American Beauty. Oh, yes, there was this little German film that few had heard of before the Sundance festival: LOLA RENNT (English title: RUN LOLA RUN).

Directed by Tom Twyker, whose past releases in this reviewers opinion aren't really notable, and starring Franka Potente, Run Lola Run brought new respect to German filmmaking, which has previously been (fairly) characterized as deliberate, slow paced, and self-absorbed in a bad way.

Run Lola Run is about action. From 10 seconds into the opening credits through to the end -- punctuated only with a few brief intermissions to let you catch your breath -- the director grabs you and drags you along a whirlwind journey. Three times. You'll enjoy the ride each time.

There's one moment, when you begin the rollercoaster ride for the second time, when you'll say to yourself "oh no, I'm going to have to watch this again. This is going to hurt." And within 8 seconds Twyker shifts gears on you and shows you how Lola's journey changes others and herself in different ways each time.

I don't want to spoil too much of the plot, so I'll give you the barest outline: Lola's boyfriend Manni has lost 100,000 Deutschmarks that his gangster boss is coming to collect in 20 minutes. Lola has to run across town to find 100,000 DM, and reach Manni, before time runs out.

The soundtrack is unparalleled. The filmmaking is superb. The acting is flawless -- every supporting actor strikes the perfect note. This is the movie I would want to be stuck on a desert island with. If you get the DVD version, you'll also get one of the most interesting directors commentaries available. I recommend this movie to anyone and everyone that is human.


Drama, Adventure, Humor, Wit...Lola Has It all !   July 24, 2000
 24 out of 33 found this review helpful

~Ok, I wanted to write a long review for this movie (becuz its just the best movie made in like... forever) but I will just give you a quick idea of the plot so you can read it fast and then buy this amazing movie! xo

Lola's boyfriend Manni has left 100,000 marks on a subway, and he'll be dead if he doesn't get it to his gangster boss in 20 minutes! Its a good thing for him that he has a strong woman behind him. With her fire engine red hair, Lola is so powerful that she breaks glass when she screams, she can heal the dying, and she won't even let the movie end until everything in her life is right.

This film is refreshingly feminist foward, in that the leading actor is a woman who is in flux and must "save the day". The whole plot and story line depend on the actions of this 20~something punky woman. This edge of your seat, heart stopping adventure draws you in by letting you know that it could be you up there running to help your boy/girlfriend. Also, this film puts the ART back in Arthouse with its punk rock style, its multiple outcomes and a 'choose your own adventure' ending style. How many ways can one major screw up end up? Will Lola and Manni live happily ever after? Will there be laughter or tears? Hmmmm.

Director Tykwer has fashioned a massively impressive, music video styled film that also stops long enough to enrich each character, adding layers as the story is revisited. He also relentlessly toys with the medium, including giving flash-forward life-stories to mere extras (very humorous and witty) and running the credits backward. Tremendous fun, hugely entertaining. Only Grinches and prunes will not fall madly in love with this witty, fast paced winner! Run, and I mean RUN! to the Check out with this film! (tee-hee)