1 A MUST-OWN DVD!
I just watched this movie for a History of Cinema class, and I must say that it is one of the best movies that I have ever seen in my life. Don't let the fact that it is a German movie throw you off; this is brilliant movie making to the extreme! A pulsating, non-stop action thriller, you will NEVER want this movie to end.
Run Lola Run is an great example of the New Wave style of movie making; but while this movie is cinematically innovative, it's also incredible for its message: We are all just pawns in the game of life. The slightest, smallest thing can change the path of our lives completely; and this movie shows this message perfectly. Any fan of action films must watch this movie! And if you are thrown off by the fact that it's a foreign movie, the DVD also offers an option of English dubbing. The dubbing is hardly noticible after a while, and the action more than makes up for it. I must also say the the amazing techno music accompanies the action supurbly. Everything is edited around the music, and the results are awesome.
Some of you may recognize the actress who plays Lola from the Bourne movies. She was amazing in those movies, but she is at her best here. She perfectly mixes action and drama, and is often very humerous as well. She helps to make this movie the great cinematic masterpiece that it is.
Overall, I strongly suggest that you watch this movie. It is a terrific film, and you will be rivited from beginning to end. OVERALL RATING: 10/10
2 Tykwer's Brilliant Film Runs On High Octane
Turn on your TV and buckle up for an exhilarating 80-minute ride. From the get-go, this film literally runs and barely pauses to take a breath. Take your eyes off the screen and you may miss a fast-paced sequence of snapshots that tells you the future of certain minor characters. Run to the kitchen for a glass of water and you've missed an entire scene.
But you won't want to take your eyes off this taut, fast-paced drama. Lola has just been told that her boyfriend Manni, an aspiring drug dealer, has lost 100,000 marks on the subway. She has 20 minutes to get together the money, or Manni will be killed by his new boss. How? Where? From whom? Down the steps, out the door, Lola runs, and runs. After 20 minutes, we've seen an entire film. But wait . . . you don't like the ending? Roll back the clock and we'll do it differently. Still don't like it? Give Tykwer another 20 minutes and he'll do it again.
The point, of course, is that our lives are not entirely our own: they are shaped by minor incidents and by actions taken by other people. (Who hasn't said something along the lines of: If she hadn't delayed me at the bank, I would have gotten to the store before it closed. If I hadn't missed the turn-off, I wouldn't have been on that street, and that guy wouldn't have hit my car.) Suppose you could "rerun the tape" and do it differently? Tykwer does, and does it brilliantly. Will there be a robbery? Will Lola get the money from her father? Will she get it elsewhere? Will the police come in time? Who will live or die? Time will tell.
One newspaper reviewer, after seeing this film, said that Tom Tykwer is the most promising German director since Rainer Fassbinder. While "The Princess and the Warrior" does not demonstrate quite the same greatness, in both films Tykwer tackles head on the issues of how marginally-related people, or being in the right place at the right time, can influence one's fate. But "Run, Lola, Run" is brilliant. The interspersing of cartoon animations of Lola with film; the snapshot sequences; a pumped up score and a never-dull plot make this one a winner.
3 This is Pure Adrenaline: Lola is Fantastic
Like an extended music video, Run Lola Run is one of those visceral movies that can be watched passively for while but before long it gets under your skin making your heart pound your lungs heave and your mind race. Tom Tykwer's direction and writing turned out a fantastic film that is pure action. This is a foreign film but its concept and style are close to home. Using the universal appeal of driving beats, as well as techno tunes and fast action photography this film is one that immediately grabs hold of teens and young adults and older people too! Franka Potente is powerful in this film. She is aesthetically pleasing (as always) and really makes the film enjoyable to watch. The dialogue is quite simple and you need not know a lick of German except maybe die tasche (the bag) which is a line used often throughout.
The film is centered on a young arty couple who are in need of money to pay off a loan after getting the. I am not going to give away a single plot detail because it may make the movie less enjoyable. However the movie is in fact three different scenarios of what happens in their pursuit of get back the money. Not all of these scenarios end happily. I have always imagined the movie as the imaginings of the couple as they plan and go through the contingencies of getting money.
Stylistically this movie is shot a lot like a music video and is more emotionally stimulating than is an intellectual one.
Its adrenalizing driving feel is refreshing especially considering it is a foreign film. So often foreign films are intellectual or just quaint. Not here. The only omission I would have made was the use of the animations that run in a few parts. They aren't bad and do not heavily detract but they are a little bit like something out of the `80's. But overall, the heavy use of high energy volume fast action shots, aggressive dialogue against a relatively austere urban German backdrop that accentuates the action makes this such a fun film to watch.
Beware when watching this movie you will probably want to do some cardio and this makes a great one to watch while on the treadmill if you have such a set up. This movie is pumped with energy and is a great point of entry into foreign film. It is one that is highly accessible very stimulating and good for a wide audience. I highly recommend you see this one: Its style pushed the envelope of what a film can be and is truly a masterpiece. The DVD offers a few extras and English audio which makes it all the more easy to watch.
-- Ted Murena
4 Jeden Tag, jede Sekunde triffst Du eine Entscheidung, die De
Tom Tykwer has truly proven himself as the filmmaker to watch. The little known German director has produced a modern-day masterpiece; a dazzling technical film about how life consists of the decisions we make.
Lola (Franka Potente) receives a phone call from her boyfriend, Manni. (Moritz Bleibtreii) Manni accidentally leaves a bag carrying $100 000 on a train, which is picked up by a homeless man. This leaves Manni in quite a predicament. He is supposed to deliver the money to a gangster by noon, if he fails, then he is likely to be killed. Lola has twenty- minutes to save his boyfriend. Twenty short minutes to somehow find the money and get it to him.
Run Lola Run is a film you expect to see at a Independent film festival, or in a Professor's office at a film school. In no way do I mean that in a negative way, I mean not to intend that the film is of a lower standard with lower production values, rather that the film is a beautifully mastered technical film that uses every filmmaking technique in the book. It is refreshing to see a film like this in the midst of the commercialised, dry-cut, 'traditional' filmmaking that we see on the silver screen so regularly.
As stated before, the film attempts to use a wide range of filmmaking techniques to help get the director's meaning and vision across to the audience. Some of these include speed-up, instant replay, black and white, and even animation in some parts.
It may sound strange, but the film is twenty-minutes long. Well, not really, but it is in context. Tykwer focuses on the twenty-minutes that Lola has, and shows that twenty-minutes three times over, each time with small differences will affect the outcome of the characters. The danger with this kind of technique is that it can threaten to be repetitive. However, the new additions added by Tykwer are very clever and link in perfectly, which will have you gasping for more.
Tykwer wrote and directed this film, and while doing this, he never lost sight of his meaning. His meaning that he is trying to express is that life consists of the decisions we make. While watching the film, this becomes increasingly evident. He also likes to emphasise that time is against Lola during the film. This can be seen when a young woman walks past and Lola asks her for the time, the next shot shows a much older woman answering her question, hence showing the importance of time.
Franka Potente gave a good performance as Lola. Yet, it is hard to say that she was fantastic, because it is a role that requires a great deal of physical acting and we didn't get to know a lot about Lola, hence the film wasn't overly-focusing on her issues, rather her boyfriend's problem. The real standout performance from my point of view came from Moritz Bleibtreii. He actually took on a quite challenging role and pulls it off successfully. He achieves his objective of getting the audience to feel sympathy for the position that he is in.
Run Lola Run is without a doubt, one of the best technical films ever made. A profound, exciting, new age masterpiece that has well and truly left its mark on the film industry.
5 Captivating Indie
Lola is a girl stuck in a dilemna: how to save her boyfriend from being killed. So, in the spirit of Groundhog Day, she keeps repeating the day over and over again until she gets it right. But unlike Groundhog Day, this indie film has an edgy style, mixed with a punkish Lola and cartoonish pop culture animation. Without giving away too much, she somehow ends up solving her dilemna but after several crazy attempts that shed light into her own seemingly average, but soon-to-be complicated life.
6 Different outcomes but always the same fast pace
The teaser for this film is that, every second of every day, you come across a choice that can change your life. Tom Tykwer's film appears to show that, rather than the main protagonists making alternative decisions the whole time, their actions are more or less governed not just by other people's decisions and actions, but also by the timing of those decisions or actions.
The plot centres around the girlfriend, Lola (Franka Potente), of a would-be gangster, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who has to come up with a way of grabbing a whopping 100,000 marks (this was in the pre-euro days!) in just 20 minutes, otherwise the do-not-trust-anyone head of the mob, Ronnie (Heino Ferch), may do unspeakable things to him, if not give him a quick headbutt as he did for keeping a packet of fags from him once.
One particular event, the theft of Lola's moped (shown as a flashback in monochrome), starts a chain of events, which will either see Ronnie get his money successfully or else see other outcomes. As a result, Manni, speaking in a desperate tone of voice from a phone booth, tells Lola that he will rob the nearest supermarket if she does not come within 20 minutes, preferably with the money.
Three alternate scenarios, with three very different outcomes, are played out during this film, all of which are accompanied by a thumping, racing soundtrack composed by Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek and director Tom Tykwer, as Lola runs, firstly, to a bank where her father (Herbert Knaup) just happens to be the bank manager, and lastly arrives at the intersection, where the phone booth and the supermarket are, by one means or another.
Lola encounters characters who recur throughout the film, including Jutta Hansen (Nina Petri), who is Lola's father's mistress, Herr Schuster (Armin Rohde), who is the security guard at the bank, an old lady pushing a pram, whom Lola almost crashes into at exactly the same spot during her headlong dash to the bank, a young man who wants to sell her a bike he stole, and the tramp who managed to get hold of Manni's plastic bag containing the money he was given from the deal, which he had accidentally left on a Berlin subway train in panic at seeing two inspectors come into the car.
Only one scene out of all three scenarios remains precisely the same, namely that of Lola's mother talking to a married man on the phone when Lola runs out of the flat at the start of the 20 minutes needed to get the money. Franka Potente is spared running down flights of stairs in the apartment building via the substitution of animation, first seen on Lola's mother's TV and then seen as part of the main story, although we do see (the live-action) Lola lying at the bottom of the stairs at one point after being deliberately tripped over by a young boy wearing a baseball cap, albeit in animation only.
Not in any particular order, the scenarios include a bank robbery, a supermarket robbery, the same two cars involved in crashes, the moped thief crashing, Lola screaming, Lola almost being run over by an ambulance, Manni being actually run over by the same ambulance, the ambulance narrowly avoiding a huge piece of glass, the ambulance smashing the glass to smithereens, Lola being shot by a police officer, Lola doing her nut in her father's office, Lola being told to get away from the bank by an armed police response team, the security guard having heart problems ... and, as for the money, I will not say!
Also, the characters of the old lady pushing the pram and the guy on the bicycle are shown in still "flash forward" pictures in rapid succession, accompanied on the soundtrack by the sound of a camera warming up before a flash picture is taken. Though they are minor characters, they are just as much affected by alternative events and outcomes as anybody else, so this is quite an interesting technique to show what happens to these people in the space of a few seconds of film running time.
If you want to know which events come where, you will have to see this imaginative movie, which also contains two scenes where Lola and Manni are alone together, discussing how they really feel towards each other and what they would really do if particular situations were to occur. Each scene follows each of the first two scenarios and, though not at all action scenes with any music, they serve to help the audience realize that even the best of relationships may not be as solid as one might think at first.
Tykwer has crafted a film that focuses very much on fate, not just determining one's own, but also having it determined by other people and events, both predictable and unpredictable. This is very much Franka Potente's movie, since it was the one which catapulted her to worldwide fame and a bourgeoning career as a Hollywood actress. I have heard both British English and American English soundtracks (as well as the original German!) yet only the DVD with the American English soundtrack also has the English commentary on the film by Potente and Tykwer. Here, Potente reveals that, one evening when it looked like it might rain, she had gone to a bar and met Tykwer, who would eventually cast her as Lola. Had it been raining that evening, she admits she might never have gone to that bar in the first place, so she never would have met Tykwer, so he never would have cast her as Lola, so she might never have eventually become famous and gone to Hollywood. Life imitating art, indeed!
7 The reality sometimes , is like a obstinate figure !
Think in this simple proposal : you just have twenty minutes to save your fiancˇe before the mob kills him .
Three different facets of a possible resolution are given in this cinematically fascinating suspense movie . You will enjoy the multiple angles shots .
Dazzling visual elegancy .
8 If you haven't seen this movie yet, turn off the PC and go..
Run to your neighborhood rental house and rent it! What a wonderful contemporary film.
9 Clever
Ever since MTV arrived on the scene back in the early 1980s, the attention span of Americans has dropped like a stone. The mindless superficiality of the programming hasn't helped boost IQ scores, either, but I won't get into that here. MTV's propensity for rapid-fire programming, replete with jump cuts and other fast editing techniques, eventually found a home in the moviemaking business. Unfortunately, the use of these methods became commonplace, often relegating if not downright replacing such tried and true formulas like plot, character development, and dialogue. Throw in a cut every few seconds, the reasoning must have went, and it gives the audience the impression that the action is more immediate and exciting. In more than a few cases these new techniques worked effectively, usually in films that still adhered to the old ideas of centering the film on the characters and the script. The first "Matrix" film comes to mind as an example of a movie that successfully fused the new editing with traditional film practices. Another film that works just as well is "Run Lola Run," a low budget German film written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring the amazing actress Franka Potente.
The plot of "Run Lola Run" is surprisingly simple. Lola (Potente) must find a way to come up with 100,000 deutsche marks in twenty minutes or her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) will have some serious explaining to do. He took a job for a big time crime boss involving the sale of a bunch of stolen cars but accidentally left the money on the train. A bum stumbled over the bag of cash and walked off with it before Manni could stop him. If Lola can't find a way to replace the bag of money, Manni tells her on the telephone, he will go across the street and rob a supermarket. Losing the money is that serious of a matter, apparently. Twenty minutes. With no time to lose, Lola dashes out of her apartment and runs across town to see her banker father, hoping against hope that he will somehow loan her the money. Yeah right. This guy has his own worries involving a female employee and he isn't about to drop everything to help his troublesome daughter. Lola dashes on, but through circumstances beyond her control arrives too late to stop Manni from committing a robbery. Will tragedy ensue because of her tardiness? Will the crime lord arrive on the scene and bust her boyfriend up for his lackluster handling of the assignment?
"Run Lola Run" answers these questions in different ways because once Lola arrives at the supermarket, the movie starts over at the point when she hangs up the phone after finding out about Manni's quandary. That's right, we see the same event begin again with a slightly different variation and outcome. Once again, Lola dashes across town to visit her recalcitrant father in order to beg him for a loan. Once again, her father is dealing with his own problems concerning a female employee. But the encounter between father and daughter is slightly changed. So is the ultimate outcome of the eventual Lola/Manni reconciliation. Then the film STARTS AGAIN at the point where Lola hangs up the phone after learning about Manni's predicament. Again, she dashes across town to visit her father in order to seek his assistance with the couple's fiscal problems. And again, her father is dealing with his own issues. And again, many events change from the previous versions. Three separate times Lola dashes across town to save her boyfriend, with the ending of each variation differing significantly from the previous version of events.
"Run Lola Run" uses everything from animation to fast editing to a thundering soundtrack in order to create a sense of dire urgency, and it works spectacularly. You'll be sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how Lola will overcome the obstacles in her way, or even if she can overcome them. Tykwer gives the film additional depth by occasionally showing us, through a quick series of still photographs, what happens in the future to various people Lola runs into or passes by on her journey through town. A woman pushing a baby stroller and a lady walking down the hallway in the bank are just two examples of this interesting technique. Obviously, their fate changes in each version. The inclusion of intriguing concepts like this and others highlights the fickle connections between each living person on the planet. We've all thought along these lines before, usually when something disastrous happens and we say something like "If I had only turned left instead of right, I wouldn't have wrecked my car." "Run Lola Run" simply poses this question on a larger scale by showing how an event could change based on one or two minor variations in the actions of a character. If the movie's existential ponderings prove too much for you, you can sit back and enjoy Franka Potente's performance as the grungy, red headed Lola. She's a real hoot, with a voice capable of shattering glass when she screams.
Extras on the disc include an informative, fun commentary with Tykwer and Potente, a music video with a brunette Potente singing a song, cast biographies, and trailers for "Run Lola Run," "The Dreamlife of Angels," and "Orlando." There are a few problems with the story, such as the nonsensical scene when the cops refuse to let Manni reenter the train to get his money. Why would they do that? Because the script needs that bag of money out of Manni's hands, that's why. Yet despite a few logical problems, "Run Lola Run" is a heck of a film everyone can enjoy.
10 A good film...and an amazing work of art
This film is one of the best films I have seen, in many ways, you can't describe it, but it is fast-paced and you will not be bored. The German language in the movie actually adds to the movie, it would not be so good if it was in English. This movie is so innovative. 5 stars from me.
11 A great movie and the BEST DVD commentary EVER!
I loved this movie. It is quirky, but that appealed to me. I found the diversions interesting. The format of running the story over three times didn't seem odd to me. I found it a new way to look at a film without feeling like it was an "ART" film. I can't say that making another movie like this would work, but it worked for this movie.
This is also the first and only commentary I have watched immediately after seening the movie for the first time. After the movie ended, I turned on the commentary and watched again. I thought Franka Potente and Tom Tykwer give great added information to the movie. They don't take it too seriously but rather take you along as they reminense about how the movie was made.
I realize people have different tastes in movies, but I recommend this movie for EVERYONE over 18. A friend of mine watched this and HATED the fact that it went over the same story three times. I don't know how to counter that other than to say, open your mind and give this movie a try.
12 Great Film
I borrowed this movie from my friend to kill some time at work and though he had explain the plot; I still loved it! What he told me didn't exactly tell me what to expect. Espeically how well the music is cordniated with the film. The speical features include a great video; which is of the lead actress's song. The other features didn't interest me so I didn't check them out. If you liked the books that you can choose the outcome like go to page 8 or 16 you'll love this movie. I intially watched it in English Dub audio but the lips were totally off and the voices sounded so weird, so I watched in German with English subtitles. I didn't mind the subtitles. I do enjoy forgein films, so if you like them too, buying this DVD would be a great addition.
13 Run Lola Run = Good Stuff!
Run Lola Run is a German film made a few years ago that basically took American cinema by storm. Sure, it's not the most well-known foreign film, but it certainly had a TON of buzz in film and pop-culture circles. Granted, the film isn't for everyone. First of all, it IS in German with English subtitles (which seems to turn off some people). Secondly, the film is very post-modern, incorporating techno music and animation, not to mention a crazy sequence of events. So, if experimental film is your forte, buy this movie!
The plot involves a heist-gone-wrong and yes, you certainly see A LOT of Lola running. And in actuality, the film is like three short films that are very similar but not exactly the same. The film is an exploration in how changing just one tiny thing in your life can have an effect on the entire grand scheme of things. The Ashton Kutcher film, "The Butterfly Effect" explored this same motif, but with far less captivating and enjoyable results.
This film works on many levels. It's easy to understand but also has a depth to it that will have you talking about it with your friends for a long time. I watched it in a college film class, but it would also be enjoyable to the general film enthusiast.
14 Every little detail matters
This German film is a fascinating exposition in how events in our lives that my seem trivial can actually have a huge effect in the long run. Much like Ray Bradbury's butterfly, who's death in prehistoric times forever changed how the English language was written, this movie explores the domino effect. By exploring three different outcomes from the same triggered event, it successfully reminds us that every moment of our lives is important. Through the film, some of the differences between the three versions are very obvious, and some are quite subtle. I enjoy such subtlety, as it allows me to watch the film more than once and see new things each time.
Beyond the philosophy and creativity of the storyline, this film is also very well shot. Bright colors and eye candy fill the 80 minute showing, complimented with heart-racing fast-paced editing and manic visual effects. By the end of the film, one might be just as exhausted as Lola.
I have not seen a lot of German cinema, myself, but after seeing this film, I think its time I explored their exports more.
15 Run Lola Run
Lola receives a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni who lost a small fortune. Now it's up to Lola to retrieve the money somehow.
A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat adventure; "Run Lola Run" is like Viagra for the eyeballs. There are two alternative endings built right into the movie to show different outlooks, and if there were no extra endings the movie would be like 30 minutes long.
16 independent for the sake of being independent
Run Lola Run. The first time I watched this flick (which is a in my own personal DVD collection) I wasn't blown away. There's allot of hype about the flick, how great the movie is, how mind blowing the music is, blah blah blah... and with the advice Flavor Flave gave us all about "the hype", I didn't believe it. Instead, I went out and bought it because I was curious. The plot? Girl runs to save boyfriend. That's it. It was like "Groundhog Day" on ecstasy. I'll give it credit for being original. I'll give it credit for knotting up all the details. I'll give it credit for energy, as it had a lot... but in the end, I was rather bored with the ending. It kind of fell off. The music, house music, which you can find in most new age independent films. Watch it in German with the subtitles, because the English dub is so over-acted, it makes it look ridiculous. You'll enjoy it more in German, as I did... the second time.
17 Thrilling!
Watching an European film shows an abismal difference when compared with Hollywoodesque movies. This one is fast paced, exciting and surprising. You must see it.
18 SEHR GUT
I really liked this movie. Visually, it is a very beautiful movie. The characters, even the minor ones, are intriguing. The plot is exciting and revolutionary. And finally, the soundtrack is wicked awesome.
Franka Potente is an amazing actress,there is more evidence of this in the Bourne Identity. She has lots of charisma and pulls you into the movie. Manni actually wasn't too bad. He and Lola are both pretty weird people so its ok.
Applause to the Germans, you've come up with a really good one here! Sehr gut!
19 Captivating!
The only thing upon which I can agree with the previous viewer is that the character of Manni is indeed a bit annoying--not too bright, and all too willing to blame Lola for his own predicament. This film is so taught, however, that it hardly matters.
Run Lola Run is imaginative, mesmerizing, and take-your-breath-away exciting. The amazing visuals work perfectly with an outstanding soundtrack and a highly engaging storyline to create a truly exquisite film experience. Highly, highly recommended!
20 Dissapointing, I tried to like it, but it was still bad
This is a few positive aspects of this movie, but only a few. I liked the theme of different people, different situations. When you bump into someone on the street they have things going on in there life impossible to predict. I even liked the three different scenarios to the same problem.
Now, onto what's bad about the movie. Extremely predictable. During the second, and third telling of the same story I kept guessing what was going to happen, 2/3 of the time I was right. At the end of the second story, I thought what happened to Manni was actually going to happen to Lola.
I knew the story w/the father was going to keep changing. I knew while watching the second story that in the third story they were going to get back w/the bum on the street to solve the situation in some manner. I knew the bike was going to come into play. It's all put right there in front of you, and it's too obvious to not point out.
Manni was a whining little punk. He was dumb, and blamed all his mistakes on Lola. What a pathetic character. He messes everything up, and calls Lola, there's nothing you can do about my mistakes. That's right idiot, there isn't anything she can do about you being so dumb.
This is a European version of Tank Girl. Just a slower version.
Grade: D+
21 Is time circular or linear?
'Run Lola Run' is not only entertaining, but also brings up questions about our current assumption that time is linear, that what we do stays in the past.
After the three scenes depicting the butterfly effect, I was left to wonder, what if time really is circular? What if the things that we do today have a dramatic impact on someone else's tomorrow? Can there be multiple realities ocurring at one time, and when coinciding resulting in a form of de ja vu?
'Run Lola Run' was very interesting, and is a great movie if you're in a philosophical mood!
22 A Lesson in Anti-Theology?
I've watched "Run Lola Run" three times now --once at an arthouse theatre when it first opened, again after purchasing the DVD about a year ago, and again this past week.
The first time I watched the DVD, I hadn't realized that there were two different versions --dubbed and subtitled-- on the disk. My wife and I watched the dubbed version and we were both VERY disappointed. Even if you don't understand a lick of German (and we don't), the subtitled one allows you to better gauge the emotions of the original performance. Actors dubbing in the dialogue after-the-fact, rarely, if ever, can match the impact of the original.
Last week, I watched it again with a friend --but only after having turned the disk over to the subtitled side.
Lola has received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni. He had left a sack containing 100,000 German Marks on a train... money that he was going to be turning over to his mobster boss in 20 minutes. If he doesn't have the money when he meets his boss, he's dead.
Lola dashes out of her apartment with no general idea of how she's going to come up with 100,000 Marks, and interacts with a number of people along the way.
As for the lesson in (anti) theology... (from my perspective, anyway)
The anti-theological point of RLR is that the most minute change in any event has a cascading effect where the resulting outcome may bear no resemblance to the events that would occur had the minor changes not taken place. In other words, this film is going to disturb the "events are pre-ordained by God" crowd.
Early in each of her three runs, Lola encounters a nasty old woman, but with the *slightest* variation between the encounters. The first time, they clip shoulders as she runs past... the woman sneers and calls Lola a name, and then the film offers about a dozen "snapshots" of the events that follow in the woman's life. (Something involving the government taking her children... or perhaps she had kidnapped them in the first place. I can't say for certain.)
The second encounter with the woman results in a much bigger bump... almost knocking the woman over. The woman turns and calls Lola a VERY bad name, but this time the forward-flash snapshots show the woman winning the lottery.
In their final encounter, Lola has left the apartment without tripping, and therefore breezes past the old woman because she gets to the same spot about a second earlier. The woman STILL sneers at her, (but does not call her a name!), and this time we witness the next events in her life: Pretty much a mundane snapshot, sitting watching TV with her husband.
There were a handful of encounters with different people, and evey minor change created enough changes in the fabric of events that the final outcome was very different.
Theists are sure to point out though, that there WAS one scene that would seem to argue on the side of events being pre-ordained: In each of the three segments, a man has a car accident, even though each accident takes place in a different way and at a diffent time. The man of course was DESTINED to have a wreck!
Personally, I think they included these scenes to make you think about it... but my personal opinion is that if there were a FOURTH run, (or a fifth or a sixth!), he eventually WOULDN'T have the wreck.
Besides, the dramatic differences in outcome for Lola and Manni ought to outweigh any suggestion of pre-destiny for what is a minor scene in the film.
23 Run Away, Run
Although "Run, Lola, Run" is off-beat, has some nice camera work and a few impressive images, I could not develop any interest in any of the characters. Lola's extreme red hair and goofy outfit (blue tank top, white bra straps, turquoise pants, and black Doc Martin boots of all things) were distracting. The "driving music beat" (or however it was described), was fairly boring and repetitive.
The commentary was only slightly more interesting than the movie. The two participants of writer/director Tom and lead actress Franka were a couple at the time, which accounts for the mutual admiration society feel of the commentary.
There may have been a good idea for a movie here, but I could not find it. Close to being the least watchable movie ("Lost and Delirious", "The Smokers", "Black and White" and "Armageddon"). I nearly dozed off both times.
I give the movie two stars for effort and concept, but I advise you to..."Run Away, Run"
24 Good concept, poor story
I don't think this film is THAT brilliant. Yes, it explores interesting philosophical issues (for example, Lola's question to her boyfriend: "If I never existed, would you now be telling some other girl you loved her?"). Yes, it is edited frenetically like a music video and shot in bright, fun colors like Gregg Araki's films. However, a premise + style is not enough to make this really memorable.
The plot itself is rather weak. There are two categories of information in the story: factual stuff and hypothetical stuff. As far as facts go, all we know is that Lola's boyfriend owes some top gangster guy 100000 marks and needs it in 20 minutes or else he is certain the top gangster will kill him. In each of the three hypothetical sequences branching from this situation, Lola and her boyfriend disregard obvious possiblities.
Manni, the boyfriend, claims that he cannot run from the deal because "no one escapes" from the top gangster guy. I found this frustrating because relying on the improbable appearance of 100000 marks within 20 minutes seems RIDICULOUS! Of course, it works out because this is a movie, not real life. But an intelligent person in real life would most likely not wait helplessly for his girlfriend to show up with money she doesn't have yet--and with his life at stake.
There are other instances in which the characters are inexplicably dumb. For instance, Lola herself, though she is in such a hurry to get the money, stalls when she sees her father in the midst of an affair. Of course it is an emotional situation, but when someone's life is at risk, it seems she would not beat around the bush in asking for the cash.
This does get slow at times because the audience gets used to all the fast editing, and it stops looking so special. In fact, by the end I felt it hadn't really been worth finishing, because there were no new revelations, no mind-blowing conclusion.
Rather than address everything that made this implausible and hindered identification with either main character, I will recommend this film. Maybe skim through it or something, just to absorb the ideas. Good concept, poor story. "Groundhog Day", though more mainstream, was a better exploration of chance.
25 QUIRKY, ENERGETIC, BLAZING PULSE-POUNDER
To the beat of an incessant techno/deephouse soundtrack, Lola runs, and then runs some more. I couldn't possibly think of another movie with such sheer cinematic buzz, it's cut like an MTV video: blink and you may miss a visual gag.
The theme is doozy but interesting -- a slicing of the same reality in time into three perspectives. Blending an innovative mix of animation, still photography, slow motion, and normal cinematography, it illustrates how the smallest change in what a person does can alter the rest of their life, not to mention the lives of others, including complete strangers they pass on the street.
Ironic, creative, and simply riveting -- a fabulous kinetic pleasure of a rental. The breathless high-octane soundtrack should be in your dance collections too.
26 she never stops running
ok, so u want to know what a bad film is like. yea well dnt watch this one cause u will just fall asleep and still not know the film is about her running and runninga and running and running and u get the picture
27 Curious what-if game
I don't think this movie was really so much about the untypical heroine versus hero. I think it was more about the what-ifs situations.
This movie is an interesting take on public perception with a heavy emphasis on the Butterfly effect. Lola has 20 minutes to produce 100,000 Marks or her boyfriend Manni gets killed. As she's running through the streets of Berlin figuring out how to come up with the cash, she bumps into people along the way who see this red-headed stranger in a hurry. No one really knows why she's in such a hurry nor is she aware of what's going on in their lives. Lola bumps into a woman with a baby carriage; what little importance she has for this woman as she struggles to save another life. The feelings are mutal from the woman, yet, three times we get a glimpse into her three possible futures. The uniqueness of the movie is depicted in three alternate endings based on different choices Lola makes in her desparation to get the cash for her boyfriend.
Lola doesn't make discoveries about people until she stops for more than a minute to realize what is going on around her, and vice versa. Had she never gone to her father for money, she never would have found out he was having an affair. Had she stopped to talk to the woman with the baby carriage she might have found out she was buying a lottery ticket she would later win or was beaten or which ever scenario panned out. But then she would have missed the chance to meet her father. Etc. Etc. Etc. Questions leading to more questions to more questions.
The butterfly effect is seen throughout the movie even in the beginning when Manni blames the loss of the money on Lola not showing up on time to pick him up after the drug deal which caused him to take the train to bump into the homeless man who distracted him from the sack of money he was supposed deliver and leaving it on the train. At first you scoff at the boyfriend's irresponsibility for blaming Lola for his own mess up, but that's where the butterfly effect really begins and, like it or not, Lola started it all.
In the final scenario, Lola makes a different choice...she stops running lon enought to spend a few minutes with a dying man in an ambulance as he recovers. In the end, the running was for nought. Her boyfriend ends up solving his own problem. Lola wass useful in one man's life but useless in helping another. Is it all inconsequential? Just a passer by? Probably not.
If you're not into alternative films then this might not be for you. Even I was left a little confused. Yet, it's a worthwhile movie taking on a curious angle on how in some form or another our actions affect others just in the nature of our being.
28 This film is challenging and asking.
In this film, the director, Tom Tykwer challenges to Hollywood movies, which is to break the female role. In "Run Lola Run", Lola is a hero. Making a heroin into a hero is the new way. Also, how Lola dresses is challenging to the cinematic male gaze. The typical Hollywood heroin is skinny, having a long hair, wearing high heels and smiling. However, Lora doesn't have any of these elements. Tywker's challenge leaves us a question. Is Lora a hero all the way in the film? Although Lola is trying to be a hero to save Manni, Tykwer makes the last scene close to what traditional endings in Hollywood movies. The close up shot of Lola and Minni holding hands is ironic because it seems like it is a happy ending. This ending asks audiences that "Is Lola really happy?". Lola wants to save Manni but he solves the problem himself. Even though Lola breaks the gender role, her lover Manni is in control of a situation.
However, by making the ironic ending, the third part is stood out from first two parts. The third part is more realistic than other two parts because Lora's situation is similar to what female positions in Hollywood and everyday lives. Therefore, I think Tykwer is asking that how we think about Lora's situation which is familiar to us.
29 At an Intersecton of Time and Being
Tykwer's "Lola Rennt" artfully demonstrates the temporal placement of an ontological progression. Lola moves through time (twenty minutes) and in doing so calls attention to the arbitrary nature of the lives she passes. We are distanced from the characterizations (which are shallow and undeveloped at best) instead focusing on the nature of her running, and the points in which she comes to friction with the society she is running through.
Lola is unkempt. She is garishly attired, with the stop sign red hair that marks the film, defying Hollywood as she trundles along the streets in each of the three segments. She is an atypical female character, tentatively called heroine because there is no way to articulate how she acts for the benefit of herself and her man, and callously moves the world through which she runs. Lola is at odds with the world that regards her through the eyes of complacent security guards and non-believing SWAT-ish teams.
The film critiques the stereotypes of relationships and women through its interludes. The relationship between Lola and Manni thematizes the their gender roles, and it is of note in which run the movie is ended, and how it seemingly reaffirms the status quo.
In summary, the film is immensely entertaining and services an articulation of a deeper understanding of time and space and the ways in which humans react within said partitioning of being.
30 Run Lola Run, a presentation of the atypical
Run Lola Run, directed by Tom Tykwer, confronts stereotypes produced by Hollywood, with its unique graphic and audial representation as well as plot technique. Lola, our heroine, has 20 minutes to reach boyfriend Mani with a replacment for the money which he has been placed in charge of and lost. Lola is far from our average American female lead. Her hair is bright red, she's loud, and is imbued with superhuman powers. Not only is she able to sprint all-out for thirty minutes, she also is able to make it accross Berlin in this amount of time, and appears briefly as a cartoon character. Despite all this, in all of the scenarios, Lola never succeeds. Tykwer employs the use of three different senarios that play upon the butterfly effect and illustrate situations that Lola may or may not have experienced on her journey to Mani. The film is very contrary to stereotypes perpetuated by American cinema. Lola is everything but a heroine; she does not possess extraordinary beauty, has no control over her situation, and is unable to succeed in any area of her life it seems. She is unemployed (depicted by her low quality clothing) and so is her boyfriend Mani, apparently.
Tykwer's use of unusual graphic depiction (cartoons), techno ambience (created by the musical track, which does not allow the viewer to rest), and portrayal of Lola as the anti-heroine all create such an unrealistic combination as to contrast and expose the lack of reality in traditional female heroines and movies.
The original tital Lola Rennt (Lola Runs), was translated into Run Lola Run. Lola, who was originally running of her own volition, is now being told to run, presumably by Mani, a source of patriarchy in Lola's life. Lola runs to her father in the scenarios, requesting money from him. She represents the low class female, seeking help from the privileged, wealthy patriarchy. In one scenario, Lola dies, leaving Mani to gaze upon her devastated, unattractive body. Mani comments upon her appearance, leaving Lola once again in the role of the surveyed. In the final scenario, Lola comes to the rescue only to find that Mani has solved his problem, and that her help was unneccesary. Where before Lola has taken charge and responsibility, she is now powerless and useless, again in contrast to the heroine stereotype. The film closes with this thought and is emphasized by the shot of Mani and Lola interlocking hands. Lola is no longer seperate, equal, or powerful, and Mani does not need her.
31 Run Lola Run a Review by A.McBride
Run Lola Run A Review by Ashley McBride
In this film, Lola is a very un-stereotypical heroine who undergoes three nearly identical episodes in which to save her lover Manny from his mob boss.
The character of Lola critiques the Hollywood mainstream heroine in many ways. She is not a contrived Hollywood beauty. She has bright orange/red hair and punk clothing which offer a disassociative affect for the viewer, allowing them to critique the mainstream heroine and the priorities of Hollywood to alter her into a commodity rather than a true hero. She also has superhuman ability, first to alter outcomes (chaos theory) and second, to see into the future (snapshots). This also offers the viewer a chance to disassociate with her because she is unlike the viewer; though she seems real, is she? She is saving he. This is a main point because this allows the viewer to critique the "damsel in distress" role that females normally play. Lola takes control. This is prevalent especially when the exact translation of the German title is given "Lola Runs." This title more accurately portrays Lola in control-a genuine hero who is motivated to succeed so much so that she risks her life in three episodes/ tries. Lola remains a hero the whole way through the film, unlike most mainstream Hollywood heroines. Though she is unable to help Manny (because he ends up helping himself) she still gets there on time with the money retrieved (in a legitimate manner) in the last episode. She tried, tried again, and then succeeded-which makes her the hero of the story.
The cinematic effects of camera angle, cartooning, and electronic weaving all serve to disassociate the viewer from the film, in order to step back and critique it. This film is fun because it challenges society to co-produce instead of just take in a film.
Lola is objectified throughout the film, but not in a Hollywood manner. She is usually shown as an entire woman-not as fragments of one (Lola is not a breast, a leg, etc.). Lola is the object of the panoptical gaze, but is unaffected in her cause. She runs not because she is told to and is being watched to ensure that she does, but runs because she wills herself to do so, and takes no care in anyone watching. This is proven when she robs a bank (laws do not matter) and goes into the casino with casual clothes (appearances do not matter). Thus Lola breaks the objectification by the panopticon set by institutions because she could care less that they exist. Even when her father tells her she does not look good she is unaffected in her cause and ignores the comment. This is just another way Lola as a hero breaks Hollywood mainstream heroines who care very much in rules and appearances and therefore are affected by the way in which they are being watched.
Lola Runs!
32 great film, critiques hollywood movies
Run Lola Run is a critique of the stereotypical heroine in Hollywood films. Lola doesn't wear a special costume; she doesn't dress up so she doesn't have the physical appearance of a typical Hollywood heroine. Hero is a more fitting title to give her because she appears tough, and "rough-around-the-edges". Lola is also a hero because she takes action. She doesn't stop to think about what to do she just drops the phone and moves. She fits this description of a hero throughout the film until the end when this role is stripped from her to comment on how Hollywood seldom, if ever, allows a woman to be a hero if there is a male available to play that role (i.e. Manni). She loses her title of hero because even though she managed to get the money needed to save manni's life, he beat her to it and manages to save himself.
Throughout the movie, Lola has the power in the relationship. Manni is dependent on her, and because of this she is not objectified. She gets this power because she takes an active role in trying to get the money needed to save Manni's life. She takes action therefore she has power. By the end of the movie, after her hero status is stripped from her, she becomes objectified by the lyrics in the song on the soundtrack. It is a male voice saying, " I don't need you". This is referring to how there relationship has changed now. Since Manni restored order, all is back to "normal," and therefore he gained all the power back from Lola. He is no longer dependent on her. The movie ends with a close-up of them holding hands, commenting on a typical "happily ever after" Hollywood ending.
33 Time is money
The main formula for Run Lola Run is "Time is Money." Time is arbitrary in the same way that space is- it means nothing if you don't put anything in it. In this film, the viewers are confronted with a "heroine" that when not satisfied with the outcome, chooses to "do-over" her life, or only 20 minutes of her life. Lola is not the typical Hollywood heroin, always looking prim and proper; she gives off the more realistic side when confronted with an intense situation. Lola shows that the smallest decision can change everything from then on. Throughout the film, she takes on the so-called masculine role and takes action rather than crying and waiting for someone else to take charge. But when those 20 minutes are up, it seems as though her female lead crumbles and she once again takes the feminine role in the relationship. It seems questionable that her heroic attributes are only due to the framing and digital weaving of the film rather than the actual character. Overall, it was interesting to see a different side of femininity and the effects in which it had on the viewers.
34 The Double Nature of Run Lola Run
In Tom Tykwer's film, Run Lola Run, we are confronted with a main character that struggles to find her place between the two distinctions of feminist and feminine. The film, which is segmented into three different scenarios, starts off by portraying Lola as a female hero. She breaks the stereotypes, and does not reflect the Hollywood ideal of a female heroine. Her clothes are ragged, her hair is a mess, and worst of all, she does not glisten but actually sweats. The Hollywood heroine, on the other hand, would be wearing high heels in all of the fight scenes, never break a sweat, and always be sexy and perfectly put together. The cinematic gaze, as refered to by film theorist, John Berger, depicts her as a super human action hero. She can see the future, run far distances in almost no time, and she has the power to change certain events in time. The cinematic gaze is usually used to objectify women. In Run Lola Run, however, it is used to set Lola apart, and show what a woman can be capable of. Tykwer's progressive feminist representation of Lola falls prey to stereotypical femininity in the last scenario. Mani, her small time crook of a boyfriend, whose life she is trying to save, comes through in the clutch. He does not even think of what Lola has gone through in an attempt to help him. Tywker ends the film with the man saving the day. This strays from his critique of "the Hollywood heroine" that had been a blaring message in the first two scenarios. All of Lola's efforts have been trivialized and she is shown as powerless and speechless. Mani acts as if he had the entire situation under control the entire time, and reduces Lola's role to that of merely a supportive and concerned girlfriend. The film ends with a segmented shot of Mani and Lola's interlocked hands. This is a perfect example of Foucault's idea of the micro physics of power. Ingeborg Majer O'Sickey includes this idea in her discussion of Barbie Magazine. It refers to the manner in which a body can be fragmented into discrete parts in order to display power. In this last scene in Run Lola Run, the fragmented shot of their clasped hands, turns Lola into a powerless and submissive girlfriend. She no longer is able to be defined independently. Mani does not need her, he simply has her a a trophy to be displayed. This movie shows us that as far as we think we are progressing as an equal society whith women who are respected, we have a lot of work to do.
35 one of the best foreign films!
"Run Lola Run" is a magnificent movie set in modern day Germany. It is easily one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. It is entertaining and thoughtful and constantly keeps you visually engaged.
Lola's boyfriend, Manni, has lost 100,000 marks that he was ordered to deliver to his boss (an unforgiving gangster) in 20 minutes. If the money is not recovered and delivered within the time allotted, Manni will suffer a terrible fate. He desperately asks Lola for help in this race against time. She jumps around from one disaster to another desperately trying to help. We see three different scenarios of Lola running to save her boyfriend giving us a play on the chaos effect. Tiny details in Lola's quest for the money ultimately change the result of the situation. As things change so do their fates, momentarily touched by her presence running by. The film is a visual display of Tykwer's collaboration of camera, music, and story creating a display of cinematic emotion.
The film illustrates a very different kind of female role that strays from the stereotypical portrayal of women. Lola takes on more of a male role as she desperately tries to be the hero in this situation. Her boyfriend is the one who seems incapable and asks for her help. The gender roles are essentially flipped and the stereotypes disappear from the female gender as we see classic beauty and attitude disappear as Lola runs through Germany. But surprisingly, at the end of the story, the female role is present and given to Lola as we see that Manni did not need her after all. They walk away together with Lola being the dependant female pretending that the chaotic journey never happened.
36 Lola runs against time, with lots of consequences
The beginning of Run Lola Run has a narrator stating how countless questions result in answers which in turn gives rise to other questions, and so on, in a chain of answers followed by questions. "But in the end, isn't it always the same question, and always the same answer?" The main question might be, will anything I do differently have any consequences? Or why did this happen?
Lola's boyfriend Manni has just botched a drug deal, losing 100,000 marks. He has to turn over the money to his connection, a nasty and forbidding bald guy, who will kill him in twenty minutes if he doesn't deliver the goods. Lola, calm, usually on time, and loyal as ever, does what she can to help out her man, who increasingly desperate as time runs out, considers holding up the local supermarket to get the money. She's running a race against time, encountering all sorts of people, including a bicycle courier, a Mr. Meyer who's a colleague of her father, and her father, a humorless, ice-in-his-veins banker who's carrying on with one of his female colleagues, who is pregnant.
This portrays three different scenarios of Lola running to save Manni, and demonstrates how one small action or variation can have enormous consequences on other people. An example is the blonde woman walking with the baby carriage. Each time she responds differently to Lola dashing by her. We then see in a series of quick still photo montages what would later happen to her. In one version, she ends up injured from an attack; in another, she ends up winning the lottery. Another is how long the conversation between Lola's father and his lover has progressed before Lola bursts in on them, asking her father for money. Each time, the outcome is different, affecting her father's attitude to her and what Lola does.
Another interesting aspect is Lola's piercing glass-shattering scream, which becomes the emanation of her desperation, whether it to be telling her boyfriend to shut up so he can calm down, or her anger at her father refusing to help her.
Franka Potente's Lola really lifts the film up, her bright vermilion hair, cyan tank top, and blue jeans nearly mirroring the primary colours of light. She gives credibility in a character who is so much more with it than her boyfriend, whose over-reliance on her makes him incompetent, pathetic, and lacking direction.
Director Tom Tykwer must have been influenced by music videos as the swift jump cuts in scenes, nothing that requires a bottle of Dramamine by the TV set, mind you, as the pulsing techno score, matching Lola's frantic running, attest to. An interesting piece of cinema from Germany, great in style and structure.
37 Run Lola Run
Run Lola Run is an interesting film about a girl and her boyfriend and their struggles to survive the most grueling twenty minutes of their lives. Manni, the boyfriend, somehow forgot 100,000 marks on a subway train and is in a lot of trouble unless Lola shows up with 100,000 marks to pay off the men Manni was supposed to meet. The movie plot is based around the chaos effect, which is the idea that every action one makes effects the lives of everyone else. The twenty minutes is shown in 3 different ways because each time it is restarted, Lola takes different paths in order to get Manni the money that he needs to stay alive.
In a way, Lola is a panopticon during her struggle to find Manni's money. Manni is always watching over Lola, making sure that she gets to him on time. Lola knows this and will take any measure possible in order to get the 100,000 marks to Manni on time. Whether she has to lie, cheat, or steal, she will get the money. She acts under pressure and runs everywhere she goes just to keep Manni safe. Manni is depending on Lola to be the hero of the day and show up with what he needs.
Lola plays the role of the strong independent woman during the movie. Manni is helplessly waiting for Lola to show up with the money. Lola shows her strengths by not being afraid to do anything in order to save the day. She'll rob her father's bank, she'll help rob a grocery store, and she'll take big risks in a casino just to save Manni. The story is played out three times in three different ways because of the chaos factor. Sadly, the movie ends with Manni saving himself because he finds the money himself. Lola is once again the stereotypical dependent woman. She struggles so much to get Manni the money he needs, but it turns out that he never needed her help at all. She accepts this fact and walks off with him as if nothing happened to her during the 20 minute struggle.
38 Great.
Phone call from her boyfriend - he needs 100,000 marks in 20 minutes (because he lost it). They argue, but bottom line, she's going to help him. From the second Lola throws down the phone the clock is ticking.
The theory of this movie seems to be based on that everything we do (or don't do), every action effects someone. For good or bad. If she's a minute later - 30 seconds earlier - whatever - there is a different outcome. People that she runs into on the street - a pause in their actions... it changes their fate.
She goes thru the day 3x. Different days for everyone.
The way it's shot is somewhat different and reminds me vaguely of QTarantino's Kill Bill flicks. Just the openness of it - structually - not so much the dialogue.
All in all a good movie.
39 It's A Fair Sight Better Than "Yentl"
Another of my favorite movies, Run Lola Run (or, "Lola Rennt" in German) has all the right stuff: amazing (and real) sets, a throbbing techno soundtrack, an extremely interwoven and complex story line, and the death of the title character within the first thirty minutes! To me, this movie is fine example of quantum causality -- asking the eternal question, "What if?" Another plus? Barbara Streisand is nowhere to be found! An instant classic, I would recommend it to anyone.
40 Amazing? Stunning? How about.. pointless?
No spoilers ahead:
The story tells of a boyfriend who is in debt. Coming to terms that he will not pay off the debt with only 20 minutes remaining, his girlfriend runs to his aid to try and get the money before time is up. The plot is told three times over to exemplify three different possibilities of what can happen.
I'm almost shocked at the abundant amount of raving reviews for this terrible film. I'd like to make a fair review based off of the insight and interesting things about the film, but I honestly fail to see any. For this I can only pick at it:
The Music: I'm a big fan of electronic music, so I may hold high standards in this regard, but nonetheless, if you're trying to sport a film with any bit of taste, I fail to see the reason for using terrible beats laden with god-awful cheesy lyrics that just kill the mood. Often the lyrics just made me laugh.
The Animation: How arbitrary! I love experimental film, collaging styles and testing waters - but c'mon! Can anyone give me a reason why 10-seconds worth of clips of animation were used in the film? Anyone at all? I'm sorry, but if you want to use animation, use it, but exploit what animation offers, and let it integrate further, even if you use it for just one scene. Even so, watching a cartoon Lola run, then the live-action Lola run just made the live-action one look ridiculous and unexciting in comparison (especially considering how rigid and stern that actress runs).
The Characters: Most of the characters have no development and are boring. I don't care if the characters were only used to develop a different story for each of the three sections, but there was nothing to grab on to. Far be it for me to criticize the alternative lifestyles of the characters (ie, Lola's distracting and childish red hair and clothes), but let it not dissuade too much from the terrible acting throughout the film.
The Plot: Laying out the same story three times over was just overkill. The plot wasn't interesting the first time, and it certainly did not retain any value a second and third time over. For a plot so plain and uninteresting, I don't see the point in exhausting the ending possibilities, or outcomes. For this, why stop at three? And the third outcome was just too ridiculous for me.
The Running: If I see that girl running down the street, I'm gonna run her over myself and save us all the redundancy. The running was never exciting, and it is FAR from action-based as the heart pounding music makes it appear to be. It was way overdrawn and it got to be slavish to watch her going and going.
41 An experience to remember
From the opening credits where a swinging pendulum sets the pace, we hear a clock ticking, the beat of the music starts, and this movie never stops with its frenetic and frantic pace. It's a visual cacophony of different and exciting images that run at you around every corner to build in your brain faster and faster until the end of the movie. Phew. Then your heart is still racing from the experience and you want to see it again.
Run Lola Run is three films in one, yet, it's the same film time and time again, but it's vastly different that only the characters are the same. The story hit's you repeatedly and builds without repetition. Like each time Lola runs past a person in the street, you learn something new, sometimes funny and perhaps quirky about that person, and all within a few seconds, so by the end of the film it has been a complete encounter.
She is running to stop her boy friend from committing a crime. I'm sure I lost pounds just watching this girl run. She's beautiful and compelling. She's also hip and fit with red hair flying in the wind, a tight blue top revels a white bra underneath and her tight green pants flair at the bottom over black boots, definitely not running shoes.
This is a film like no other. It's so original that I would recommend it to literally anybody who is willing to suspend his or her belief in a liner world.
Run Lola Run is in German with subtitles but you hardly need to read much dialogue before the images tell the story for you.
42 Latter Day' Groundhogs Day
I believe the movie does well because of the premise of the Movie.
The premise in this point is the background ie* the music, the Running & the fates that that lie in the endings....
...That being said I have not seen this movie since it was in the theaters, so I may be ambiguous & therefore this may not be the best review & I will be open to critiques.
I like this movie & reccomend it to anyone who is in the mood for something different....
43 EXELLENT
Run Lola Run is one of my all time favorite movies ever! The imagery, music and story all fit together so well. I would deffinately recomend this movie to anyone thinking of buying or even renting it.
44 "What A Difference A Day Makes...."
This review refers to the DVD edition of "Run Lola Run" (or "Lola Rennt")....
I had been meaning to view this film for quite some time. I had heard many good things about it, but kept putting it off. From what I knew of the story,about a girl only having so much time to save her boyfriends life, I was expecting something more like the Johnny Depp film "The Nick Of Time". So when I finally got around to it...wow..was I surprised and delighted by this cinematic treat.(and I was mad at myself for not watching it before this!)It's one of those you want to watch again immediately.
The film is heart pumping, creative, innovative and fresh. The story will have you thinking about it for quite sometime. Our heroine Lola, finds herself with only 20 minutes to save Manni's life. It seems he has accidentally lost a huge some of money and the men it belongs to are not exactly the forgiving kind. He frantically calls Lola, as she is the one with the ideas.Lola immediately goes into action to try to prevent the horrors of what will happen if Manni doesn't come up with the money. So right from the start we are intrigued to see if she will pull it off.
The film doesn't stop here though, it's just beginning. In 20 minutes, many things can happen to alter the course of a life. 'What if's' are the question here. What if that car was just a little slower, or what if a conversation went just a little differently? These are little things that can make big differences when it counts. It's a roller coaster of a ride, as we watch, and cheer for Lola,as she attempts to change the fates.
The photography of this film is exceptional. Imagine trying to keep up with a running person all the time, and still coming up with incredible shot after shot. The music is fabulous and very much a part of the story.Franka Potente(Barbara from "Blow")is wonderful in her performance of Lola. Directed by Tom Tykwer, this German film is a must see for anyone who loves foreign films or just fine filmmaking.
The DVD is presented in German(DD5.1 or Stereo Surround), with English or French subtitles. It may also be viewed in English(also DD5.1 and 2.0) if you prefer. There's a music video and commentary by both the Director and Potente that may be viewed during the film. It may be viewed in either the original theatrical widescreen aspect ratio or a full screen version. I highly recommend the widescreen that takes in all the great photography.
Don't miss this exhilarting ride...go for it...Laurie
45 EXCELLENT!
Excellent! A must buy for all you movie gors out there. Why is it so great? The story is pretty plainly written, but the innovation truly makes it a must see movie. If i could rate higher than five, i would.
46 Good Movie
Yeah, its a foreign movie, but dont let that fool you. It was a good movie. Very different too.
47 Unforgettable, yet shallow
Run Lola Run has a very different style of directing - fast motion, panning shots, intersparsed with dark, slow scenes intended to draw out the viewer's emotion. I have to give credit where credit is due, and in that regard Run Lola Run is something completely different.
In the same breath (and without giving any spoilers), the main premise of the movie is one you won't soon forget.
But even with the unique directing style, the definitive concept of the story, and the good performances by the cast, there's something lacking about this film. I couldn't feel the characters, I couldn't put myself in their shoes. I couldn't find a reason to feel sad or happy even though there were several scenes where the director's intent was to do just that. The movie lacked depth and emotion.
If you're a film student and you want to see a different style of directing, see this movie. If you find enjoyment in watching something new, plot twists rarely seen before, see this movie. But if your enjoyment in movies comes from emotion and passion, feeling the characters and experiencing the story with your mind AND your heart, this movie isn't for you.
48 Brilliant Gem!!!
This movie is purely amazing! The plot is wonderful, that acting is superb and the soundtrack is fantastic! Not only that, but the film used is perfect and the mix of blak and white and also film was wicked!! i highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants real intensity and really good acting to the point where it seems like your in the movie! Prepare to be blown away!!!!
49 Brilliant
An exhilarating fast-paced action movie from start to finish. This movie has excellent cinematography with a story that is as strong as the filming and the acting.
Lola receives a phone call from her wanna-be crook boyfriend, Manni. He complains to her that because she was late from picking him up, he mistakenly lost 100,000 deutsche marks meant to be given to Ronni, a big-time crook. If Ronni does not receive his 100,000 deutche marks within 20 minutes, he will kill Manni. This phone call starts this movie on an action-packed, fast-paced movie where Lola tries to get his money and catch up with Manni before it is too late.
Tom Tykwer does an excellent job at showing us what cause and effect really means. He shows Lola bumping into people on her way to Manni, and how life for that individual turns out with a show of photographs.
There is even an animation part where Lola's mother is talking on the phone while her television is on, and on the TV is an animated Lola running down the stairs of their apartment to get outside, as she is actually doing it.
Tom Tykwer keeps you visually stimulated, as well as audibly intrigued with the background tech music.
The acting by Franka Potente is great. She actively portrays a girlfriend distressed that her boyfriend may be killed, yet determined to do what she can to prevent this. Franka Potente has recently been seen in an American blockbuster, The Bourne Identity with Matt Damon.
Moritz Bleibtreu also does a great job being a not-too-smart crook. He does a great job portraying how desperate his character is when he calls Lola.
This movie is pretty interesting, as the movie is the whole 20 minutes it takes for Lola to try to figure out how to come up with that kind of money, as well as the obstacles she encounters along the way. So, as you may wonder, as I did, how can a feature-length movie drag 20 minutes out to be so long? Well, the first time through...yes, you read that right, the ending is not what Lola wanted, so the movie starts over again, and this time when she encounters her obstacles, she handles them differently, until the next outcome happens. In the end, we see her try three times to get to Manni in time.
This IS a must-see movie. It is one of the best movies out at this time, and you will want to see this, as you know Hollywood will be doing a re-make on this in the future!
50 I had to watch it twice!
The movie is about the story of Lola(Franka Potente) who promised her boyfriend Manni (Maritz Bleibtreu) that she would find him 10000 DMs in 20 minutes, and if she failed to appear he would go rob the supermarket. Its not the greatest storyline in the world and the characters in the movie have the amazing capacity to do the most stupid, impulsive things without thinking first, but I must say that I enjoyed the whole movie from start to end and watched it twice, first by myself then with my husband. The comic quality of this movie is dry but good, and its pace is fast which means that you hardly have time to think or predict what the character is going to do next before they do it. The soundtrack is the style of authentic German trance-techno music... which pleased my husband a great deal because he's a German trance-techno fan. This is definitely no quiet, emotional drama... the characters are brash and act and say whatever they want. If you watch the DVD version you can choose to watch the movie in its original German version with English subtitles, or you can choose to watch it in an English-dubbed version. My personal preference is the original German version with English subtitles. The other English-dubbed version I find really irritating because they don't even dub it word for word... original swear-words in German are substituted by tame and ridiculously stupid English words which many of us don't even use in our daily life for swearing or expressing anger. Not only that, the dubbing is unemotional (sounds like the English-dubbers they use to dub Japanese cartoons into English) and it sounds plastic and lacks the real depth of feeling that the original German version contains.
51 what a great movie
filled with fast paced camera work blended together with the racing of Franka Potente's movement. exciting and bloody great. a must see for anyone. one of the best movies of 1999
52 Best movie!
I fell completely in love with this brilliant artistic film from the first moment that I laid eyes on it. I got to say I'm pretty surprised I have not heard of it until now, in my English class. There is more action and emotion in the first 30 minutes of this movie than in BraveHeart, Matrix, and any Schwartzenegger film put together. It is a film rich with color, sound, creativity, and non-stop exhilaration!
The plot is this girl named Lola has 20 minutes to get to her boyfriend and get him $100,000 before he is killed for screwing up a job. There is no time wasted on subplot, the subplot develops as the story moves on. The cool thing about this movie is that we not only see what happens as Lola scrambles to get the money, but we see it happen three times. Each time Lola's 20 minutes are up, we start fresh with a few things learned and try all over again. What is admirable about Lola is her strong determination to succeed and conquer the obstacles. She fights for what she believes, for what she trusts, and for what she loves.
To me, the movie Run Lola Run is also a story of the little intricacies that you, me, and every other person in the world take for granted as we pass each other on the street and pass each other by and how those little meaningless nuances can change our entire lives. The difference between a person running into you and running by you is the difference between you being a baby-stealer and being a lottery winner. The plot may have been simple but the acting was solid, charismatic and charming. The film is so captivating in every aspect; it almost made me forget that this is a German film with English subtitles.
53 One Of The Best Movie EVER Made
Run Lola Run is not your typical drama/action/suspence movie, but is something MUCH superior. It has been about 2 yrs since I first saw this movie and I am still in awe at its amazing qualities as what I was when I first saw it. This is the movie which started my obsession b/c it, unlike a lot of typical "shoot em' up" action movies, has something going for it with a deeper more intellectual meaning. It is brilliantly written, acted, and produced, but what makes it unique is the aftermath of the movie. Thinking about its portrayal of fate vs. free will is undoubtibly an amazing concept to ponder. It is because of this theme that viewing the movie a second time is an addictive process. Each time I have seen it, different elements have been brought up as well as small details which further unravel the director's greatness. This is one of those movies that gets better after each viewing. Realistically, this is one of the best movie I have ever seen, so it would be stupid not to rent it. If you like the concept of "The Matrix", you should like this (although these are no flying bullets or flying coated men). RENT IT!!! You won't regret it!
54 My fav. foriegn film of all time
This is a movie about two lovers who only have 15 minutes to change the course of their lives forever. Lola recieves a frantic phone call from her boyfriend, Manni, telling her that he's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't help him replace it in the next 15 minutes, he's dead. The movie takes you through half a dozen different scenarios - what if Lola robs a bank? What will happen? What if Lola borrows the money from her father? What will happen? - It's a great movie that enforces the law of nature that every action has a reaction and every step in life that we take affects the next. I really enjoyed this film. If you don't like watching subtitled films, the dvd comes with English audio - so you can actually watch the film instead of trying to watch and read at the same time. Go watch it.
55 "How do we know what we believe to know?"
Tom Tykwer`s "Run Lola Run" is a breath of fresh air. There is so much creativity and vision in this small film that it stands alone against the overblown star vehicles the major studios keep forcing upon us. It is a film brimming with energy and inspiration and a powerful salvo against Hollywood conventionalism.
Lola (Franka Potente) is told by her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) that he has lost a bag with 100,000 deutsche marks in it. She realizes that he will most likely be killed if the money is not delivered to the gangster Manni was supposed to meet. This realization starts Lola off on a quest to come up with the funds on her own. With time running out, Lola bolts out of her apartment and runs . . . and runs . . . and runs . . .
"Run Lola Run" is a treatise on the infinite possibilities a single situation can spawn. It is a metaphysical examination of how the choices we make will affect us forever and how the actions of others can profoundly influence the circumstances of our lives. Yet, on a more simplistic level, it is also an energetic display of filmmaking at its most creative. Its unique use of freeze frames, novel camera angles, instant replays, and animation is proof that Tykwer is determined to give us a viewing experience unlike anything we've ever seen before. With a pulsating soundtrack and a bravura performance by Potente to complement his boundless creativity, Tykwer succeeds in creating a truly original work. Here's hoping that his example will inspire the current generation of filmmakers to test their own creative limits in the hopes of surpassing the standard set by "Run Lola Run."
56 A brilliantly innovative cinematic masterpiece
I have always tried very hard not to say a movie was awesome, but I feel compelled to say that this German gem from 1999 is as awesome as awesome can be. I've never seen anything like Run, Lola, Run; it's a film that doesn't sound as if it should really work, yet its presentation is dazzling and mesmerizing. Franka Potente gives an incredible performance, her talents as visible as her bright pink hair. There's nothing misleading about the title. Lola runs and runs some more; Franka Potente could probably have tried out for the German Olympic team after all the running she had to do here.
The strengths of this movie are its unique vision, stunning cinematography, and pulse-pounding soundtrack, but here's a breakdown of the plot. Lola (Potente) and Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) are in love, and like most couples in love we find the man doing something really stupid and blaming the woman. Manni does a little work for a mafia-type fellow, and his latest job involves the delivery of one hundred thousand marks to his boss. Lola was supposed to meet him in town, but she was late, and Manni ended up accidentally (yet still very stupidly) leaving his bag o' cash on a train for a bum to pick up and run off with. Now he has twenty minutes to come up with one hundred thousand marks before having to face Mr. Big. Lola was late because her bike was stolen, yet of course the whole mess is her fault, according to Manni. I'll cut the guy some slack here, though; knowing you are about to be rubbed out tends to put a little stress on the system. Lola takes off, trying to come up with the money and get it to Manni before the top of the hour. Lest you think the film cannot last longer than thirty minutes tops, just know that there is something a little bit different about Lola; the old saw "if you don't succeed, try, try again" takes on special meaning with this girl, and the transitions of what might be considered silly by some are handled very, very well.
Run, Lola, Run does much to show us how our decisions impact both ourselves and those around us, even strangers, in a big, big way. The movie provides us with a quick series of revealing snapshots of the future lives of several individuals who cross Lola's path, and it is really quite fascinating to see how these peeks at the future differ under slightly different circumstances. One may not be able to say that fate is kind or unkind, but she (fate) is certainly capricious. Irony abounds here, just as in life. The visual presentation of this film is just stunning, combining all sorts of illustrative elements. There is an animation sequence that mimics part of Lola's run, split screen shots of two scenes at once, and almost dizzying camera pans that do indeed compare with a lot of the elements of music videos. The whole movie is also infused with a powerful, beating soundtrack (a significant portion of which is provided by Franka Potente herself) that never allows the viewer to take a breath; there is very little danger of your nodding off while watching this cinematic masterpiece. Voted the best film by the audience at the Sundance Film Festival of 1999, Run, Lola, Run is a visionary piece of cinematic art that every lover of good movies should see.
57 A roller coaster ride in my living room!
Have you ever had a dream where, perhaps you did not like the way the dream was evolving, so you manipulated the events in some sort of re-do/start-over variation, and tried again? Well, this is 'Run Lola Run'...a heart-thumping, high adrenaline romp of a wild ride.
Lola is a young woman who is supposed to pick up her boyfriend, Manni, from the train station. Manni - - who is kind of incompetent and obviously dependant on Lola for guidance - - works for criminal-types, and he was to make a delivery of 100,000 deutsche marks to his boss. Due to circumstances beyond Lola's control, she is unable to pick up Manni at the designated time, and he, in his confusion, misplaces the bag which contains the money. Manni is convinced that his boss will kill him if he doesn't have the money; Lola insists she can come up with the money, and Manni agrees to wait just twenty minutes for her, or else he will rob a large retail store nearby to get it. The key here is the twenty minutes. This frantic phone conversation sets everything in motion, and Lola's mad dash commences. As the first twenty minutes winds down unsuccessfully, in that almost dream-like method, Lola is able to re-do the twenty minutes with similar but variant results, and then again a third time. It is the variant results that make the scenes so fascinating. Not only is this girl running with everything she's got, the director strafes you with fast-paced shots, and the pulsing techno-music feels like an aerobic workout in your brain. Each person she comes across causes us to catch a small but interesting glimpse into the effects we all unknowingly have upon each other. And, remarkably, for as little time you get with the lesser characters (her mother, father, people in the street), you are able to develop a much broader characterization and even a better understanding of who Lola is - - independent and confident.
The only flaw in this story involves logic. I couldn't help wondering why Lola just didn't go back and change the one thing that would've solved the whole situation - - get to the train station to pick up Manni on time! But, all in all, I think 'Run Lola Run' is a very enjoyable film, and is visually pleasing as well as refreshingly original, story-wise. I am just hoping it does not garner so much attention as to warrant an American copy, starring J-Lo!
58 Lola rennt, und rennt, und rennt
Wird sie es schaffen? In diesem tollen Film haben wir Lola, rothaerrig und laut. Frueher im Tag wurde ihr Rad geklaut und deshalb konnte sie ihren festen Freund, Manni nicht abholen.
Manni hatte DM 100.000 in einer U-Bahn verloren. Ein Penner hat das Geld jetzt aber Manni hat gar keine Ahnung, wo er ist. Jetzt kommt ein Mann fuers Geld. Wenn Manni es nicht hat, wird er erschossen werden. Er hat zwanzig Minuten aber kein Geld.
Am Anfang des Filmes sehen wir ein Telefongespraech zwischen Manni und Lola. Sie verspricht, in 20 Minuten da zu sein und mit dem Geld. Wie, weiss sie noch nicht. Sie legt auf und beginnt, dahin zu rennen.
Der Film gibt uns drei moegliche Endungen. Jede ist ganz anders. Es kommt darauf an, wie schnell sie ist, mit wem sie spricht, und wann. Ihr Vater, ein Mann in einem Auto, und sogar ein Junge mit Hund auf der Treppe spielen eine grosse Rolle.
Man soll diesen Film sehen. Ich bin Deutschlehrer und ich habe ihn meiner Klasse gezeigt. Sie haben ihn geliebt, hoffentlich wird es auch Dir gefallen.
By the way, I teach German and thought it appropriate to write the review in German. Basically I loved the movie because of its originality and fun. I recommend it highly.
59 So good, nothing compares to it....
I can't believe that there are some bad reviews for this film. After watching it, I can't seem to imagine enjoying another movie as much as I enjoyed watching Run Lola Run. It was thrilling, visually appealing, wonderfully crafted, and pitch perfect techno score. I mean there's nothing I could really ask for.
The plot of the movie was repeated thrice because the director is telling us how much a second of each of our time counts. This is basically it. If you're so philosophically gifted and old, then probably this movie is not for you. This movie is so much ahead of its time and definitely a one of a kind. Definitely a must see.
60 An awesome foreign movie
I just sit and watch it without question, i never heard of it before but i love this movie. Im ready to rent it too. Excelent techno-trance music.
61 RUN LOLA RUN!!!!
Run Lola Run is a fun, intense flick. The plot:
Lola receives a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni.
That day he was on an errand for his boss, a job with some mercs. It was a test, for Manni's boss, to see if he could trust him.
He took the "merchandise" to a buyer from whom he collects 1000,000 marks. Lola was supposed to pick him from the job, but unfortunately her moped was stolen that same day, then she rook a taxi and the driver mixed up the address.
So Manni takes the subway, but then some security guys show up, and Manni panics and leaves, with the money still on the train! The security guys keep him from retrieving it. He checks at the next station, but it's gone! Some vagrant guy has it, and disappears into the city.
Now Manni has only twenty minutes before his boss shows up, to collect the money! Lola reassures him she'll think of something, but he threatens if she isn't there in 20 minutes, he'll rob the store across from the payphone.
So Lola has to think fast, and move fast. Since her moped was stolen, she'll have to run. The first person she thinks of, for help, is her father, a bank manager. But will he help?
Manni's life is on the line. His boss is a dangerous man, who once headbutted Manni, for simply keeping a carton of cigarettes!
Run Lola Run is full of unexpected twists. Showing three seprate scenarios which Lola seeks alternate ways to save Manni. As she runs into people on the street (sometimes literally) We are given a glimpse into their lives, and shown how a simple second can change it.
It's fun movie, i got goosebumps the first time I saw it.
The actors are GREAT. Moritz Bleibtreu, is wonderful as Manni, who is QUITE believable in his portrayal as a desperate man.
Moritz's mother, Monica Bleibtreu, has a small part as a blind woman, who gives Manni her phone card. And Franka Potente
is FANTASTIC, she seems very likable personally. And as Lola, with her punk hairdo, dyed a brilliant fire-engine red! Her navel blazon with a tribal tattoo, that looks like a sunburst. Her attitude, and her energy! She's amazing.
But Run Lola Run is more about some cartailing mercs, and a punk fraulein...It has some deeper meaning. About twists of fate. How a single event can effect someones whole life. It's about true love, destiny and determination.
With it's unique directional techniques and adventuresome plot, it's truly unique and very exhilerating! A film I'm, sure you'll have no problem watching over and over again.
It' soundtrack (which you must get!) is scored with some excellent techno music (partly composed by Tom Tykwer!) And Franka lends her voice to a couple songs! The beats will get your adrenaline pumping, you'll want to get up and run with Lola.
The DVD includes an option to play English audio (for people who are lazy about subtitles) but the voices for this audio track are really pretty funny (in my opinion) Still you may want to play, just for fun. I prefer the original German version with subtitles. It has them in French or English. If you watch it over and over, you may just learn some German (i have)
Special features: You can chose a commentary by Franka Potente and TomTykwer, and they'll talk throughout as the film plays, pointing out funny and interesting facts. Like Joachim Krol (who plays the bum) was so believable in his bum outfit people treated him badly, because they thought he was a real bum!
It also has a music video for the song "Believe". The video features scenes from the film, some NEW scenes of Lola running and also shows some fun sequences of Franka singing! Herbert Knaup (the guy that plays Lola's dad) is also in the video.
Written and directed by TOM TYKWER! See it, buy it!
62 one of my favorites
This movie is unlike anything you've ever seen or will ever see again. Lola has 20 minutes to find 100,000 marks to save her boyfriend from the mob. The movie shows three different scenarios and how the smallest thing, such as tripping on the way down the stairs, can effect your entire life. Very cool. Its the only movie I've seen that I can say I notice something new each and every time I watch it. You will not be bored by this movie. Its one of the few movies I've ever seen that can combine action and suspense with an intelligent plot. A must see!!
63 Fast, sleek, stylish, fun
I wont spend long talking about this movie, because there isnt much to say. There is one word that can describe this movie well - Original. Movies like this dont come along often.
Thats all Ill say, as im sure other reviews will tell you plenty.
Just letting you all know that theres one more person who loved this movie.
Buy it, and have fun.
64 Amazing Movie !!!
This movie is amazing and stunning. Everything is so great, including the music. It's the movie that nobody should miss in his/her life.
65 Exciting and Innovative!!!
I watched "Run Lola Run" for the first time in a film class my Senior year in college. I was completely surprised and impressed by this film. I had heard about it when it was first released, but I never knew what all the excitement was about. Well, I soon discovered it!
This film follows a young woman and her boyfriend as they try to come up with a large sum of money in 20 minutes that is owed to a gangster. What is really cool about this film is that it goes through numerous paths that each person could have taken. Once one storyline is finished, the story starts all over again in a different way. It's very exciting and that excitement is complimented by a pounding techno beat.
I would highly suggest this film to everyone and not just those who study film or are into indie films. I think anyone can enjoy this film because it's filled with so many things that make movies great: love, sex, suspense, pain, and triumph! You won't be disappointed!!!
66 great!!!!!!
I have not seen too many forign films. I had to watch this for my video class. I was amazed of how intense this film is. The camera angles are great and the music just makes it more exciting. Even though it stinks to read the subtitles, by the first scene you are [drawn] in and forget that it is in another language. A GREAT FILM
67 Edge of your seat
This is an edge of your sit thriller. I almost dropped my pop corn. A okay with me.
68 Best of what could Real Life be mixed in wanna be flick yet!
If you can understand the German dialogue then buy this cool German Dvd it also has english.. I had no problems playing it on my Dvd player! I would Recommend this cool hard to explain type of flick but it is really a shock in your face movie: Hope to see more from this Producer soon!...
69 The most unlikely scenario . . .
This is a good movie for learning German, since phrases are repeated from scenario to scenario. As for the plot:
Supposedly, the third and final scenario is the true one. However, this is the most unlikely one. Somehow, in a city the size of Berlin, Manni is able to find the same homeless man who has his bag of money, and Lola gambles and wins 100 thousand DM, all in less than 20 minutes. The first two scenarios, in which Lola or Manni resorts to robbery and Manni or Lola is injured, are actually the more likely ones. Perhaps RUN LOLA RUN is poking fun at how neatly things usually turn out in movies.
70 A visual and mind stimulating ride...
While watching this move for perhaps the 8th or 9th time I realize that foriegn film makers just know how to do things right. This movie keeps you going from beginning to end. It amazes me the drivel of films that we get here in America. Whenever I am out I make a point to get my friends to go see somethng out of the ordinary and nine times out of ten, the result is fantastic. Usually resulting in the viewing of brilliant fare like Run Lola Run. The story in this film is filled with more thought than ten "blockbusters" could provide you with. If you like this film check out Monsoon Wedding, The Devils Backbone, Best In Show, The Professional and East West to name a few.
71 Awesome Lola Awesome
This film took me by surprise years ago and has remained on my "Most Favorite" list. The music is great as it keeps time with the action. Whether you have a great sound system or not, Lola is outstanding both visually (with director Twyker's interesting use of colors) AND audibly (is that a word?).
Usually I don't care for foreign films, but I'll watch this one over and over again!
72 a pleasure to watch
A heart racing, pulse surging and foot stomping ride of a movie that is adventurous in its filming and reverberating in its effects.
A pleasure to watch.
73 Raver Fairy Tale
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.
74 Simple film that captures your attention
Run Lola run is a foreign film (German with English subtitles) that has much mainstream appeal. Without giving away too much the story revolves around Lola and her Boyfriend (Manni) in a bid to get 100,000 Marks in 20 minutes to save Manni from a rather unpleasant encounter with some thugs. The film moves at a fast pace as it replays the same 20 minutes over and over each showing how actions even trivial ones may have a profound effects on others. For example in one running Lola bumps into a woman and that triggers a series of events that causes the woman to lose her child to protective services which leads her to kidnap a baby. In another running she merely brushes past the woman and the woman ends up winning the lottery and lives happily ever after.
Far from being bored with the replaying of the 20 minutes the move keeps your attention as you watch for the discrepancies between the runs. You find yourself asking was that element in the previous run? Why is that person walking there? Do they have a part in a future running? Just when you think you know everything about the runs the final run still has eye openers...
The DVD has an English soundtrack that almost makes you feel that your not watching a foreign language film at all with the action and the sound track being so in sync.
75 Interesting premise
This movie explores the variations that affect our day. Most of the time, small changes wouldn't mean much. But, when life is on the line, one small change can have a profound impact on the following decisions, events, and coincidents. This movie is brave enough to show them, taking a page from Rashomon, which shows the same events from 3 different perspectives.
However, where this movie lost me was caring for the characters. The boyfriend whose life is on the line is a gangster, a drug dealer. Why would I care if he lives or dies? So he can poison the youth later on?
Overall, the DVD is average. There's not many extras, but it is a 2-sided DVD that has both widescreen and full-screen versions (for those of you that like to miss 40% of the movie). This movie may worth a watch, not much more.
76 An amazing and action packed experimental film
Run Lola Run is the result of a great experiment in film. Despite little characterization, scattered dialogue and a very basic plot, it fully succeeds in its intentions.
The simplistic plot concerns Lola receiving a phone call from her boyfriend Mannie, who has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 deutsch marks or faith the wrath of a crime boss. Lola sets off to find a way to come up with the money before Mannie resorts to robbery. That's it. But the trick of the film lies in the retelling of those 20 minutes in three separate scenarios as Lola is given multiple chances to get things right.
But the filmmakers don't need a second chance to get this film right. The pulsating techno soundtrack perfectly connects with the beautiful images of Lola running, trying to beat destiny. There's just something about the urgency in her eyes and the gracefulness with which she runs that won't let you take your eyes away from her. The film also explores how extremely minor events, such as brushing against someone, can have profound impacts on the rest of a person's life.
There's really not a whole lot more I can say about Run Lola Run. It's just a very small, short film (an 80 minute running time) that perfectly captures its subject. This one is definitely recommended, even for those that normally may avoid foreign language films. You just can't miss out on it.
77 Philosophy + Film + Frantic Pace = an incredible film
"Run Lola Run" (the English rendering of the German "Lola Rennt", of which a mroe literal translation is "Lola Runs") was the feature debut of actor Franka Potente (Lola) and director Tom Tykwer. Both deliver command performances.
The plot revolves around Lola's attempt to find 10 000 marks for her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who risks death at the hands of his gangster boss if he doesn't come up with the money. Lola's response to Manni's frantic phone call in the opening scenes is to run to her father's bank to see if he can help, encountering a series of passers-by along the way.
Where "Lola" differs from the conventional structure of a film is that there are in fact three separate stories told. Each features the same general premise - outlined above - but the results of Lola's run vary incredibly. This process was the most talked-about feature of the film, and as such does not come as that much of an adjustment to the viewer in 2003.
As well as the differing end results of Lola's run, the people she encounters have different stories told about them. Lola runs into (literally in some cases) many different characters, a mother pushing a pram and a man selling his bike being the two most memorable. Each of these characters reacts to Lola's presence and then a series of photos is shown explaining what happens to them afterwards - these results also change (drastically) from story to story.
A third feature is the "red scenes" in between the main stories. Tykwer deliberately keeps the audience in the dark as to the meaning of these dialogues between Lola and Manni ranging over various philosophical topics - do they happen before or after the story in question? do they happen at all? regardless, they serve to increase the peculiarity of this film.
And what a film it is. Potente (who also contributes vocals to the soundtrack) is a highly accomplished actor - more familiar to American audiences as Matt Damon's sidekick in "The Bourne Identity" - and is capable of almost every emotion in the book here. Lola's screaming has to be heard to be belived, especially in the opening scenes. Bleibtreu, in what is a relatively small role, proves Potente's equal and it is surely only a matter of time before he too appears in a major Hollywood film. The other actors are somewhat hampered by the pace of the film which doesn't really allow them any much character development - often, whatever development is made in one story needs to be totally discarded in the next. They do, however, acquit themselves adequately.
"Lola" is, after all is said and done, Tykwer's film. From the opening collection of quotes - including the enigmatic "Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel" (after the game is before the game) - and the ominously ticking clock, it is clear that he is not going to let the audience have a minute to think. Lola's running scenes are shot at strange angles, in split screen and some scenes feaure the same shot repeated three times on the screen at once. All of this is done to a pounding soundtrack of German techno, some of which is composed by Tykwer himself. Tykwer has a wicked sense of humour in places, the toughs driving the car and the sunglasses-wearing nun always provoke laughs. The dialogue between Manni and Lola about Manni's feelings for her is also very well-written, both in the German and the subtitled English.
One of the most effective scenes is the opening one, a blurred shot of a crowd of people with a voiceover asking questions like "where are we coming from?" and "where are we going?", followed by a line from the man who is later revealed to be the bank security guard: "The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is mere theory".
In the end, what is "Lola" all about? That question is almost impossible to answer. Tykwer certainly has something to say, and the general consensus is that it deals with the random nature of modern life and also with the question of fate versus pre-determinism. One thing is for sure, this film is best viewed with friends and family as you will need someone to discuss the issues raised with. Rgeardless of the philosophical bent of the film, it is an action-packed masterpiece well worth seeing.
Is this film for everyone? Probably not. The oddities in the construction will put many off, which is a shame since it is a film which will benefit from the widest possible exposure. This film thus comes heartily recommended for anyone who enjoys a challenging viewing experience and doesn't simply watch movies to be told a story.
78 Awesome
This is my absolute favorite movie. I first saw this on the Bravo channel and was intrigued by the concept. I rented it and fell in love with this movie. The actors Franka Potente and Moritz Blietzbleu(I cannot spell today) were so human in their emotions and motivation. This movie was extremely refreshing in comparison to all but a few American movies today. I loved all of the characters in this movie and the idea and reality of someone's fate being affected by time and the smallest actions of others is genius of the director. This film is a landmark in all modern cinema.
Also Reccomended: La Femme Nikita, The Professional,
Die Another Day
79 Great Innovative Film
Take one plot multiply three possible outcomes, and you have the wonderful innovative "Run Lola Run." Each version of the plot will have you on the edge of your seat as Lola runs through the city to save her criminal boyfriend.
80 Got to see
This is a great german movie. The main character, Lola, has to get 100,000.oo marks in 20 minutes for her boyfriend, Manni. She will do it one way and there will be a different endding. Three times she does it. Each time it starts over and she makes different choices. All the time she is running. It shows just one little choice you make will change the out come.
81 Electric and Alive
This is one of the most exciting films I have seen in a long, long time. It's a story that could only be told in this medium, and it uses the medium in the telling.
Got that? I know it's become cliche to say that a film has broken new ground, but this one really has. It's so fun to watch you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, palms sweaty, pulse racing.
An amazing film. I loved it.
82 A simple little film, but immensely enjoyable
Manni has lost 100 000 deutschemarks that he owes to a diamond-smuggling gangster he is meeting in 20 minutes. The titular Lola is Manni's girlfriend, whom he calls for help when he realises the money is missing. Lola sets off on a frantic run through the streets of Berlin to try and extract the money from her father, a banker, before Manni gets desperate and holds up a grocery store for the funds. However, such a bare-bones description does not do justice to this hyperkinetic, immensely enjoyable film.
Since Lola only has only 20 minutes, and the film is 80 minutes, it's not giving away the plot to say that the race to get the funds happens 3 times - the first 2 end in disaster, so she has to try, try again. I'll leave for you to discover how it turns out the third time. Between these action sequences are surprisingly effective hallucinatory dialogues between Lola and Manni, and you develop a sense of their relationship. This kind of gimmick has been used before (the most recent that I've seen being Groundhog Day), but this is the most enjoyable rendition I've seen. It's unclear if this is the same Lola or an alternate universe. The movie wisely steers clear of such metaphysical questions, and you accept the story's reality (much as you accept the reality of "The Matrix") because it is self-consistent and the actors are so convincing.
It's not perfect - there are too many gimmicks in the title sequence that you almost get annoyed enough to look negatively at the rest of the film. However, there's something beautiful about Lola's run, much like watching an Olympic long-distance race. With bright red hair flapping in the breeze, arms pumping, you can't help but admire the energy she has, even while faintly disbelieving that a smoker could maintain such a pace for 20 minutes. It's good that it is enjoyable, because a good 1/3 of the movie is simply watching her run!
The DVD has the typical extras, including an English commentary (by the director and the actress that played Lola) for the Region 1 encoded discs. There are some neat gems in the commenary, explaining things that would be familiar to German moviegoers (the identities of certain actors, for instance) but not to American ones. These are minutae, however, that you don't need to enjoy the film. It's a credit to the filmaker that the film is so universal that it can be enjoyed by any audience.
83 You never know what's around the next corner!
I saw this movie on a listmania list and noted the high ratings, so I bought it and I'm glad I did. Its unique format mixes media styles and throws in a few quirky twists just for kicks. It has all the strangeness and black humor common to Monty Python movies, but with a deadly serious and desperate quality that oddly enough works really well. I am usually pretty good at guessing what will happen next, but this flick threw me a few surprising curves. It is fast paced, so you will want to watch it again just to pick up what you may have missed the first time.
84 Briliant and original
This film is dificult to describe and do it justice. I found myself surprised to find it a refreshing story of love and comitment. Among the see of poor, sappy, shortsighted love stories this is an original, well paced impecibly directed, acted, etc. film that demonstrates the main characters devotion to the man she loves. However this devotion is not forced down the viewer's throat and most of the movie you believe you are watching a suspense drama when really you are watching diferent fates of a woman in love. A must have for anyone who loves good cinema, foreign films, love stories, suspense, or just a plain good flick.
85 Still my favorite in my DVD collection
This is absolutely my favorite DVD that I own. There has never been any movie made like this one -- totally unique and engaging. Tom Tykwer's film really sticks in your head, as you follow the lives of two main characters, and see how one little event in time can change the entire tragectory of their fates.
This is an excellent, amazing, artistic gem that I want to get two of, just so that if I lose one, then I'll have a backup!
86 A few more chances
If life could be that way, we were all having a few chances to make things right.
87 fantastic movie!!!!!!!1
As soon as I heard about this movie I had to go out and rent it...this turned out to be a great decision. I watched it 3 times in one weekend and it is now one of the crowning jewels in my DVD collection.
Lola is an amazing chacter, who is very easy to empathize with. with one phone call at the beginning of the movie she is thrown into a dizzying situation which requires her to act entirely based on wit and instinct; she has 20 minutes to get 100,000 marks or her boyfriend, Manie, is a dead man.
the short time frame evicts raw emotion from Lola, and she goes thru every obsticle presented to her quickly with no time or patience for anything that gets in her way. the things we get to see are Lola's split second reactions, along with how small differences in her encounters (down to what words a woman uses to curse at Lola) affect not only her outcome, but the future of the other people in the encounter. the use of flash forward still frames gives you a glimpse into these character's changed lives, and does so effectively while not slowing down the movie. There are some scenes, not in the 20 minute timeline, that give an in depth look at the characters. My favorite of these is a scene with Lola and Manie where they have a "how do you know you love me" conversation that establishes the depth of their relationship without being over the top or weakening the characters. the movie is WONDERFUL.
Personal recomendation: watch the german version with subtitles, it's the best way to get a real feel for the characters and their reactions...the english dubbed version is nowhere near as effective and is even comical on occasions where what you're hearing and seeing just don't mesh.
88 Go Lola Go!!!
I should mention I love foreign movies and I don't mind subtitles. I thank my lucky stars for voiceovers on this visual masterpiece! I wish everyone would have to see this movie. Lola has to get money- and fast. And she happens to get more than one chance. Interesting to say the least. Beautiful to watch to say more. You will never watch another movie that time flies by so fast... which will make you not regret watching this even if you don't like it. BUT- I guarantee that anyone and their mother will love this film. And watch it more than once, because it's the little things. It is placement of scenery and the quick flash-forward slide shows. Intrigued? Buy it!!! I will say no more than that this movie deserves more than the five stars I was able to give it!
89 A Running Movie
Although it is in german when you have the DVD you can change languages to english. The base of the story is Lola's boyfriend must get a whole lot of money in 20 minutes. HOW??? well thats the whole plot.
It starts out with this wild cartoon and then turns into the "real life" which it is the most of the movie. The movie is a non-stop whirl-win of fun. The excitment and action (not explosives) is great.
I own this movie and although i dont watch it all the time I do find myself going back and watching it whenever i want to see a good action/excitement movie. It has a good plot and the way the movie was put together is new and vibrant. The music supports the film very well also.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to talk about doing stuff but doesnt because then you can dream you are Lola on this journey but you never really would be!
90 WOW
This is one of those movies that make you think. It makes you wonder and ponder that one question... what if? The other point that this movie makes is that and I quote Lola "With love you can do anything". She makes a good point and that is what this whole movie is about. Finally the last point is that the soundtrack is so friggin good. It has the best techno beat that I have heard since Blade came out. The only recommendation I would make is to pay for advanced shipping because you need to see this movie.
91 Techno Existentialism 101
To me the most interesting philisophical aspect of this film isn't the obvious one presented. That of "small seemingly insignifigant events can alter our destinies" (or the flapping of a butterflies wings can cause a hurricane).
Rather than focus on that I found myself enthralled by Lola's physical plight through the streets of Berlin. It seemed as a microcosm for life itself. It was a road movie with an overexerted heartbeat. If you don't think this movie was deep I think you may have to take a closer look.
The part that set my head spinning was during the third story when Lola has absolutely zero solutions for her situation and asks herself "what should I do now?...Keep Running." Don't we tell ourselves that in some form everyday of our lives. Motion making us cancel out the fact that we may be on infinite auto pilot. Motion cancelling out the fact that at the end of the day we are all going to die anyway.
Some people have said that the running became dull or redundant but honestly those are the parts of the film that challanged me to go inside of myself most of all. On top of that this film is truly cinematic (unlike most made these days) and has a driving techno soundtrack.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words..and in this case that is proved to the 110th degree.
92 Celluloid speed!
I challenge anyone to fall asleep watching this movie! The combination of the techno-beat soundtrack and Lola running feels like it should be as bad for you as looking directly at strobe lighting. The main idea behind the movie has been done many times before - having the chance to re-live the same day again to reach a different conclusion. The director shows us how coincidence and chance affect outcomes. This isn't a film for realists, fans of great dialogue or character development. But if you think you would enjoy watching a movie that grabs you by your senses and shakes you up, you could do a lot worse.
93 Just Wonderful
All I can say is "Wow." After viewing Run Lola Run once, I was sucked in. And now, after having seen it at least 10 times, I still love it just as much as I did the first time. I've seen this movie so many times, I swear I can speak fluent German! It quickly became one my favorite movies of all time. First off, the greatest part of the film is Franka Potente. What a great actress. She makes Lola a believable heroine, and she makes you want to dye your own hair flaming red. She's tough and fearless, and will do anything for the love of her life. The movie plays out 3 different times, each time with a different ending, but every time with one goal: save her boyfriend's life. The movie plays out almost like a music video, for the better part of the film is Lola running through the streets of Germany with a techno-like soundtrack playing in the background. The movie is not even an hour and a half, (some people say that's a good thing) and it goes quick. And, I will be the first to admit, it's not a deep movie, but it's fun. It's fast-paced, exhilerating and just wonderful, and if you haven't seen it yet, please do - it even appeals to anyone who has never seen a foreign film before.
94 Absolutely brilliant!
All I can add to all the other well-deserved accolades is that what Metropolis was to silent movies this one is to sound films. A feast for eyes & ears & especially the mind!
95 Run Lola Run
This film is amazing... not only is the cinematography masterfully done, but also the many layers of the entire film. I especially love it on DVD because I can hear the director and Franka's opinions about the film. Also, wide screen... need I say more?
96 The speed , the mus
