First, to appreciate the background behind “Run Lola Run” it helps to have some perspective on modern German society. Here are some observations to set the stage:
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.
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.
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