Run Lola Run

1998 Action/Adventure

Tom Tykwer directed this German thriller in which Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) handled a smuggling job, delivered the loot, collected the payment, left the bag on the subway, and now has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 deutsche marks or confront the wrath of his boss, local criminal Ronnie (Heino Ferch). Desperate, Manni phones his girlfriend Lola (Franka Potente) who immediately runs downstairs and through Berlin streets to the bank run by her father (Herbert Knaup). However, she's rejected and leaves minus money. When she goes to meet Manni, he's holding up a supermarket, and she's shot by the cops. In a destiny device familiar to readers of Ken Grimwood's acclaimed novel Replay, the story begins anew with different outcomes. In one version, Lola robs the bank and takes her father hostage; in another, there's casino cash to be won. All Lola-Manni scenes were in 35mm, while scenes without them were shot in video. Other cinematic techniques on display here include whip pans, jump cuts, slow and fast motion, split-screen, intercut color and black and white, segment titles, and animation. Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Montreal, Toronto). more..

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri

Reviews

  • As essential in its own way as Anton Karas' celebrated zither work was to "The Third Man," Lola's music is perfectly suited to the film's aims and just about addictive in its throbbing, insinuating rhythms.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 May 2013

  • An existential chain reaction, yet as remarkable as his cinematic gamesmanship is the way that he traces the anatomy of feeling in Lola.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 May 2013

  • Tykwer's style gives the movie an explosive energy that never quits, marking him as the most ingenious new talent to hail from Germany in ages.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    27 May 2013

  • The film's extra-special trick, the one that kicks in under your radar because it's so busy with all the flash, is that it makes you care deeply for Lola and Manni.

    Maitland McDonagh - TV Guide

    27 May 2013

  • I would not want to see a sequel to the film, and at 81 minutes it isn't a second too short, but what it does, it does cheerfully, with great energy, and very well.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical

    American Cinema Editors (2000)

     
  • Best Film Not in the English Language

    BAFTA Awards (2000)

     
  • Best Actress - National

    Bambi Awards (1998)

  • Best Production (Produzentenpreis)

    Bavarian Film Awards (1999)

  • Bogey Awards, Germany (1998)