{Lola rennt}
 --- Subtitled --- Tagline: (English translation) Every second of every day you're faced with a decision that can change your life. A thrilling post-MTV, roller-coaster ride, Run Lola Run is the internationally acclaimed sensation about two star-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change the course of their lives. Time is running out for Lola (Franka Potente). She's just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. Set to a throbbing techno score, "Lola's like a human stun gun!"- Peter Rainer, New York Magazine. Storyline: Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manny. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. Lola has 20 min to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Ben Williams on August 19, 2008 -- When Run Lola Run made it's debut on the American film scene in 1999, audiences had been treated to one of the best single years of film in decades. There was a lot of competition at the box office that year with the likes of blockbusters Star Wars: Episode 1, Fight Club, The 6th Sense and The Matrix making their historic debuts. While Run Lola Run never brought in the amount of cash and hasn't necessarily achieved the classic status of the previously mentioned films, it did make it's mark through a unique visual style and its entirely new way of telling a non-linear story. Run Lola Run is, to say the least, a bizarre film. The plot follows Lola (Franka Potente) as she attempts to save her somewhat of an idiot boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), from certain doom. You see, Manni has managed to tick off some dangerous gangsters by misplacing their 100,000 Deutchmarks on a subway train. Manni's solution to this conundrum is to rob a supermarket and, hopefully, net enough cash to pay the gangsters back. Lola has twenty minutes to get across town, come up with a solution to replace the money and save Manni's life in the process. The intriguing thing about Run Lola Run is in how the story is told. Rather than being a straightforward linear story, the plot is delivered in a series of flashbacks and do-overs. Lola is given three chances to get to Manny and intervene, much like she's living in a giant video game. The whole film is set to a very unique techno soundtrack, composed for the film by director Tom Tykwer. Franka Potente even delivers the vocals for these tracks. Animation also plays an important part in the visual storytelling of Run Lola Run. Many scenes instantly transform into animated versions of themselves and scenes are re-played in both live action as well as animated form. Extreme camera angles and long unbroken takes are also heavily utilized for the many scenes of Lola running at full speed through the urban German landscape depicted in the film. There is much more to Run Lola Run than action and a race against the clock. As Lola runs through each of the three versions of her attempt to get to Manni, she encounters the same set of people in different situations. The way she bumps into these passersby will greatly influence the outcome of her journey. In addition, the future lives of these random people are also shown in a quick series of still photos as their encounters with Lola change their paths. If all of this sounds convoluted, rest assured that it all comes off seamlessly and effectively. In the end, I've been a big fan of Run Lola Run since I saw it theatrically back in 1999. It's an incredibly entertaining film and one that will stay with you long after the credits have run. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! As one of my favorite films of the late nineties, I'm thrilled to see Run Lola Run on Blu-ray. It's an exciting and visually inventive film that never ceases to be entertaining. As a matter of fact, I'd place it high on my list of films with the best replay factor. While Run Lola Run isn't an intensely emotional affair, it is a film that will get your adrenaline pumping and your mind twirling with all that unfolds on screen. Sony has done a masterful job of bringing this great film to Blu-ray with both outstanding audio and reference grade video. Supplements are a little on the light side, but are effective and informative nonetheless. I'm extremely excited to include Run Lola Run in my Blu-ray library. I think you'll be too! HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! Cast Notes: Franka Potente (Lola), Moritz Bleibtreu (Manni), Herbert Knaup (Vater), Nina Petri (Jutta Hansen), Armin Rohde (Herr Schuster), Joachim Król (Norbert von Au), Ludger Pistor (Herr Meier), Suzanne von Borsody (Frau Jäger), Sebastian Schipper (Mike), Julia Lindig (Doris), Lars Rudolph (Herr Kruse), Andreas Petri (Sanitäter), Klaus Müller (Croupier), Utz Krause (Casino-Manager), Beate Finckh (Casino-Kassiererin). User Comment: Nick Smart (nick_smart85@hotmail.com) from Gold Coast, Australia, 14 April 2002 • 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. Summary: Technically Stunning. IMDb Rating (04/05/15): 5.6/10 from 58,933 users IMDb Rating (03/28/11): 5.7/10 from 34,853 users
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