Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run is an unconventional film with a conventional plot basis: a woman desperate to save the man she loves. Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 marks to replace the money her boyfriend Manni must deliver to a gangster but lost on a subway. If she does not make it in time, Manni will rob a store to get the money. The camera follows Lola, a gorgeous woman with hair dyed fire red, as she runs desperately through the streets, each small choice she makes along the way affecting the final outcome in critical ways.

When she runs, the world around her seems to be somewhat artificial, almost as if she were inside a video game. As she passes by and interacts with people on the street, the viewer gets a speedy photographic rundown of each person's future, based on this encounter with Lola. The scenes of her running by far make up the bulk of the film, which is interesting, because these are precisely the scenes that would be cut down to mere seconds in any other action film. It is through these scenes, however, that the viewer can understand the passion, desperation, and devotion to Manni that allows Lola to bend the rules of reality and recreate her fate over and again.

The almost seamless transition between the scenes is a testament to the artistic skill of the writer/director, Tom Tykwer. The dynamic and artificial quality of the action shots are juxtaposed against intimate flashback scenes of Lola and Manni in bed. The emotive quality of these scenes is very different from the action shots, but their inclusion in no way interferes with the viewer's absorption into the story. These scenes are the driving force behind Lola's ability to change time and are crucial to the narrative. They could have easily become saccharine sweet under a lesser writer, but instead the exchanges between Lola and Manni are witty and humorous.

At its core, Run Lola Run is a story about the power of love. The viewer cannot help but to root for this quirky, unlikely heroine and her tragically unfortunate boyfriend. In the end, both take fate into their own hands rather than relying on others, and come out victorious. After the tension and the speed of the entire film, the final scene is so calm and reassuring it is almost alarming. There is almost an expectation that something must go wrong. This is not the case however, because not only have Lola and Manni managed to thwart any immediate dangers, they have come out on top. Tykwer is truly a romantic.