Run Lola Run (1998)

So Lola does. Throughout the entire movie. She is played by Franka Potente and could easily keep up with Forrest Gump. In fact this whole movie is very fast.

It's a burst of kinetic action and therefore the story is not reaching very deep.
But in return we get a furious marathon of artistic imagery and we don't get much of a break in only 80 minutes of rapidly paced running time that in this case is indeed RUNNING TIME.

What it is about? Well, it's all about style. The basic conflict is simple:

Lola gets a call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) who tells her that he messed up a deal and lost a bag with 100.000 Deutsche Mark (= around 50.000 dollars at that time) in it. Of course, some bad guy is already waiting for Mannie and the money and if he won't return it in time ... well you know what's going to happen then.

He is desperately searching for a solution. Lola promises to get the money and meet him, but there are only 20 minutes she has left before her boyfriend goes on to rob a store next to him.
From that moment on Lola is on the run and we witness the follwing events of the next 20 minutes.

How did they stretch out these 20 Minutes to 80? Here is the film's tricky concept:
The film shows us the same "20 minutes" in three different versions that all slightly alternate. The events and characters Lola runs into are the same but vary slightly in time and small detail. That causes major differences in the outcome of everything that follows. The film uses the principle of the 'butterfly effect' to create very interesting changes everytime the story repeats itself.
This interesting structure leads to the question of what is the true story and if there is one true story at all? Or are all posibilities free to choose from? I don't know and I don't really care either. What I know is that this film is an energetic and entertaining ride.

Its visual style is very inventive and exciting. It uses sequences in comic strip-style, quick changes of perspective, fast flashes of still images ... The soundtrack is well placed and fits perfectly.

What is there to criticize? Well, as I said, there is not much substance here in the plot or the characters. It's all behaviour to get and keep the story going. But that doesn't matter so much. It's still amusing cause there is hardly room for depth in the film's short 80 minutes. It's about style and concept.
Another thing I have to point out is logic in the construction of the events especially considering the temporal aspects. Some things - to me - don't seem to fall in place correctly or in the correct time.
So here and there some things may not make sense but the film plays by its own rules anyway so that is a minor flaw.

The movie is overall a success even though it won't probably play so fine on repetetive viewings. It was written and directed by Tom Tykwer who later made 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' starring Dustin Hoffman. Maybe 'Run Lola Run' could be considered his international breakthrough.

It's a fun film and I recommend it. But hurry. The last copy of the film will be rented by someone else if you don't make it to your video store in 20 minutes. Run!