"Run Lola Run"

Initially, “Run Lola Run” seems almost too fast-paced and stylistic for its own good. It opens to frantic synthesized music and rapid shots of a crowd of spectators, with a policeman explaining the “rules of the game” before the cartoon credits kick off. Mug shots and bold text, complete with slamming sound effects, introduce the players and a nonstop zoom then finds our bright-haired protagonist answering her red phone. Did director/writer Tom Tykwer trick us all into watching little more than an 81-minute German video game?

Fortunately, what evolves is an interesting, high-octane tale of chance and choice that achieves the perfect balance between entertaining action and thought-provoking drama.

Lola (Franka Potente, better known as Jason Bourne’s girlfriend) is a no-nonsense girl faced with an impossible challenge: find $100,000 in 20 minutes or her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) dies. She turns to her wealthy banker father (Herbert Knaup) for help, but experiences wildly different outcomes in the film’s three separate endings. While each scenario begins with her slamming down her phone and running to the bank, the ensuing action takes drastically different shape based on the slightest alterations. A run-in with a neighbor’s dog, a fender bender, a father’s fickle feelings – every one of these trivial matters is a matter of life or death for Lola and those around her.

Given such circumstances, Lola doesn’t get much of a back story, but she is a fantastic female character nonetheless. She’ll kick your ass if you cross her, but she’s utterly devoted to those she loves and extraordinarily determined to help them in any way possible. And her name’s in the title for a reason; Lola is unquestionably the movie’s driving force. Every little thing she does affects not only herself and Manni, but the fates of complete strangers she encounters.

Praise must also go to Tykwer, who does such an excellent job of emphasizing the role of chance in our lives that it’s truly impossible to tell what will happen next, making for some terrific suspense and tension. He’s greatly aided in this achievement by the film’s many video game elements; do-overs, repeated montages and a wheel of characters Lola may visit are all incorporated into the story. However, as compelling as this visual style is, Tykwer is smart enough to understand that a shot-for-shot cinematic video game would eventually wear thin and therefore adds some substance to his movie, namely through Lola and Manni. He portrays the pair as a flawed but sympathetic couple, not two-dimensional players devoid of soul and meaning. We care about what happens to them, and realize that, as unrealistic as the events surrounding them may be, they are very real people deserving of happiness.

So if you’re not opposed to heavy stylization and/or German subtitles, you’ll probably love this exhilarating journey through the worst 20 minutes of one fiercely determined woman’s life.

Written by: Kristin Hunt

Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 8.00
Reader's Votes: 1

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