Run Lola Run Review
by Ivana Redwine (credwine AT ix DOT netcom DOT com)August 15th, 1999
RUN LOLA RUN (1998)
A Film Review by Ivana Redwine
Copyright 1999 Ivana Redwine
I went into "Run Lola Run" expecting to be dazzled, yet I thought I would probably hate it anyway since my taste leans toward films with strong stories and fully developed characters. But I was pleasantly surprised to find this little German movie to be emotionally engaging as well as highly entertaining. Although "Run Lola Run" hasn't redefined my taste, I learned something about movies and myself after seeing it. There are ways to create an unforgettable character and a film that sparks with emotion, even if the story is paper-thin.
"Run Lola Run" is visually stunning and has an energy seemingly fueled by pure adrenaline. The film is basically a breathlessly paced thriller with a bit of a love story thrown in. Its inventive narrative structure also creates a frame for a meditation on the mutable nature of destiny. Although "Run Lola Run" is stronger on style than substance and story, it is not without some emotional resonance and philosophical depth, and it isn't surprising that it has attracted considerable attention at film festivals. It won Best Film at the 1999 Seattle International Film Festival and the Audience Award in the World Cinema category at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
A preamble sets up the film, suggesting that in a world of infinite possibilities there is only one certainty--the amount of time something takes. Then Lola (Franka Potente) receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), and he tells her he is in big trouble. While working for a crime boss, Manni lost a bag containing 100,000 marks, and he must replace the money by high noon or he will be killed. Running through the streets of Berlin, Lola has only 20 minutes to somehow obtain the cash and get it to her boyfriend in time to save his life.
The film's innovative structure is tiered into three parts, all starting at the point when Lola gets the call. From there, each segment branches off, suggesting dramatically different destinies for Lola, Manni, and others. Even the lives of some of the passersby are changed forever, and this provides much of the movie's humor.
Writer/director/co-composer Tom Tykwer's film has an audacious style. I thought the film's visual aspects and its edgy score were perfectly matched to the emotional high stakes of the action. Energetic camera work and the pulse-like beat of techno music intensify the frantic mood of the film. The editing is impressive, too, as the movie switches back and forth between film and videotape, in addition to mixing still photography and animation with live action.
Even though the story in "Run Lola Run" is a little flimsy, its characters managed to eventually pull me in, making me care about their plight, and much of the credit for this must surely belong to the actors. This is especially true of Franka Potente as Lola. She has an intense, charismatic screen presence, and some of the tight shots of her expressive face are particularly dramatic. I was also impressed by the film's way of showing different possible fates, as if drawn at random from a multi- layered time/space continuum of infinite possibilities. "Run Lola Run" not only entertained me, it made me think and feel. Not bad for an afternoon at the movies.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
