Running Time: 81 minutes
Directed By: Tom Tykwer
Written By: Tom Tykwer
Main Cast: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde
Click here to view the trailer
WHAT IF...
Hoping to knock out a couple of movies tonight and wrap this season up as quickly as possible. First up for the evening is "Run Lola Run", which I bought on Blu-Ray years ago (my very first Blu-Ray purchase, in fact) and just got around to checking it out tonight. Let me clarify that: I had seen the film before, just not this particular copy. Now then...
The film is a product of the 90s and all you need do is watch it to realize that, as you hear the techno beats thumping in the background and characters that look like they've been pulled directly from MTV occupying the screen. The film begins with a phone call. Lola (Potente) picks up her red, ringing phone to hear her boyfriend Manni's ecstatic voice on the other end. It seems that Manni is involved in some pretty crooked activities and on this day, he was supposed to deliver 100,000 German marks to a crime boss. Everything went as planned, but when Lola didn't show up to pick him up and escort him to the drop point (her moped was stolen, hence the upcoming running), he was forced to take the subway. Aboard the subway, Manni is followed by police and through a series of unfortunate events, Manni leaves the bag of money aboard the subway and it falls into the hands of a bum. Manni knows that the crime boss will surely kill him if he can't produce the 100,000 marks. Lola tells him to stay cool and that she'll figure something out. As Manni listens to his girlfriend try to calm him, he looks upon a grocery store and tells her that if she can't do something by noon (it is now 11:40am) he plans to rob the grocery store to get the dough. From there, it's off to the races for Lola, as she runs, runs, runs and tries to figure out somehow, some way to get 100,000 marks. The film is told three separate times, with each telling having a different outcome.
The first time I saw "Run Lola Run", I loved it and this time wasn't too much different. It's actually one of those movies that seeing it for the first time has it's benefits over all the other times you'll see it. When you're first watching it and Lola is shot at around the twenty - thirty minute mark, you have a, sort of, "what the fuck" moment, as you realize the red-haired maiden from the front of the DVD case has just died. Then you realize what the director is going for and that this is a very unconventional film. It's really a very basic idea, as Tykwer examines the idea of "what if". What if Lola didn't run into the lady pushing the baby carriage, what if she did? What if Lola didn't talk to the man on the bicycle, what if she didn't? What if Lola didn't make it to Manni by noon and what if she did? It examines the idea that if you change even one minute detail of a given series of events, the entire duration and outcome of the events will also change. THE BOOK is quick to note that "Run Lola Run" is a product of the 90s and a product of a generation brought up on MTV. It also points out the music video style editing, which I really liked. Not only does the movie have an exhausting sounding title, but it is a little exhausting too. It's a very high intensity film that will keep you on your toes.
At only eighty minutes long, "Run Lola Run" actually feels like the shortest movie in the whole book, as despite it's eighty minute run time, the film seems like it's over in the snap of the fingers. It's kind of a nice change of pace, especially after all the long movies I've watched this season. Tykwer keeps everything succinct and really, he only has twenty minutes for each run, plus the time it takes to transition into each run and the few minutes of over run in each run (Lola usually arrives to Manni right at noon, so there's always another few minutes to wrap up the story). Tykwer also uses a few animated sequences and a techno beat that plays almost nonstop, throughout the entire movie to keep things interesting and upbeat.
RATING: 8/10 Don't really have a whole lot to say about this one. I really like it and something that's all I know. Sometimes I just don't have a reason why, except (in the case of "Lola") that it's original and interesting.
MOVIES WATCHED: 691
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 310
May 28, 2013 11:30pm
A film that should be outside my comfort zone.. (that pounding techno music, and as you put it, made for a (low attention span) MTV Generation), but it certainly held my attention, and I ended up thinking it well worth while.
ReplyDeleteAs you finished with, original and interesting.
Ray
Glad you liked it Ray!
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