Run Lola Run

RUN LOLA RUN (1998) ***

Reviewed 3/26/99

Few films in recent memory have the visceral energy of director Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run. The basic premise is simple, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) will be killed in 20 minutes by a crime boss unless he comes up with the 100,000 marks he accidentally lost and Manni's girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) takes it upon herself to save him. Only, Tykwer takes us through this scenario of Lola's mad dash through Berlin three different times with slight changes each time that result in very different endings. This has its similarities to Krzystof Kieslowski's Blind Chance and to a lesser degree Hal Hartley's Flirt.

Essentially, Run Lola Run is a constant race against time, and to maximize the suspense, Tykwer throws in a pulse-pounding techno music score (most of which is composed by himself with some vocals by Potente), rapid editing, gliding crane shots, and animated sequences. Frank Griebe's crisp cinematography (not counting the sequences in the film shot on beta) gorgeously captures the city of Berlin. Both main actors, Potente and Bleibtreu bring strong physical presences to their roles. The film is also as much comedy as thriller, letting us in on ironies the characters are oblivious to and occasionally giving us 3-second synopses of minor characters' future lives. Tykwer also makes particularly timely use of Dinah Washington's "What a Diff'rence a Day Made."

While it is fun watching the disparate plot elements merge in different combinations each time through, ultimately the film does not add up to very much. It ends up feeling too much like an exercise in gimmickry. Still, Run Lola Run supplies an entertaining thrill ride and doesn't pretend to be more than that, so why ask for it?

Sony Pictures Classics will release Run Lola Run in the U.S. in June.