Starring Franke Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu
Written and directed by Tom Tykwer
Germany 1998
81 mins
Our last film was The Company Of Wolves - Angela Carter's bold and bloody re-telling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood - in which a strong female hero takes on various wolves - both those hairy on the inside and the outside
Tonight's film Run Lola Run also features a powerful woman at its centre - this time the eponymous Lola whose boyfriend Manni is a small time crook. When Lola is delayed in meeting him to collect a bag of money things go badly wrong and Manni chooses to rob a supermarket to make up for the cash he has lost and needs so urgently. Lola is determined to stop him and put things right...
At this point Tom Tykwer's film takes off into a series of intriguing alternate realities - in each the story plays out differently and has very contrasting outcomes. In each Lola must run through the streets of Berlin - colliding with others and seeing their lives flash forward as a result. The pace is frenetic, the tone witty and playful and the cinematography dynamic and involving. Animation, still photographs and montage all play a part in this high-energy urban adventure as well as a dazzling techno score, composed in part by director Tykwer often quoting the sustained chords of the classical composer Charles Ives.
As Lola Franke Potente is terrific in her first big role- she would go on to Hollywood and featured alongside Matt Damon in the Bourne films among others. Her athletic performance takes us on a lightning fast ride in which time, fate and destiny all compete with one another for the upper hand.
If you saw Victoria - the recent Berlin-set heist movie shot in a single take - you may see parallels with Run Lola Run - both use the German capital to great effect, both have resourceful women characters and both are compelling and surprising narratives - German cinema at its best and most entertaining.
Run Lola Run was nominated for many awards and won a host of them including the audience award at the Sundance festival.
