Run Lola Run
Technically brilliant and extremely fast paced, Run Lola Run, by talented director Tom Tykwer, takes us through three different versions of what can happen when 100,000 German marks have gone missing and you have only 20 minutes to find the money to pay back your gangster boss. Manni is the one in trouble and Lola is his partner, in love as well as crime.
What makes this film so exhilarating is not the story itself, which is not exactly new, or even the way it is told, but its pounding motion. The soundtrack is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It forces the story to move and mould to its techno beat (rather than the other way around). Tykwer also makes use of other media like photography and animation to give the film a new look. This adds to the visual pleasure created by extreme point-of-view shots, like the camera following the ball on a roulette wheel or flying in through a window.
The idea of the cinema as a realm where time is condensed is what makes this film tick. Instead of pushing years into the 90 minute frame, as is often attempted by other directors, Takwer is fascinated by the idea of extending the crucial 20 minutes it takes Lola to reach Manni, to last the entire film. Franka Potente does a good job as the distraught saviour, who really doesn’t do much more than run. Although we hardly get to know the characters in the usual cinematic ways, it is hard not to sympathise with them as the film rolls on.
How has a German art house movie managed to gain a general release in Australia? Maybe because Run Lola Run is a film about love, but not a Romance, about speed, but not a Hollywood Action movie. It’s an unusual film with a young, strong woman as the main protagonist. That alone makes it worth a look, but I assure you the closer you watch, the more there is to notice. Whether or not you have ever seen a German film before, I suggest you make your way to the cinema and catch Run Lola Run.
Anna Solding
