Run Lola Run [Blu-ray]

Run Lola Run was the first movie on DVD that I had ever purchased without seeing it first. I based my purchase on the great reviews of the film I had read time and time again. The DVD arrived this week and I was not dissapointed.

The film is only 81 minutes long, and is extremely fast-paced and tense for the entire time. You really have to pay attention during the movie and suspend disbelief for a while to really enjoy this one.

The quality of the DVD transfer is very good. The picture is great, and the sound is outstanding (the film has a good heavy soundtrack). The extras on the disc aren't too exciting, but it is nice to have both German/English language tracks as well as English/French/None subtitles. I thought the english dubbing was done exceptionally well (except for the first scene).

One interesting thing to note is that it is a double sided DVD, with the fullscreen version on one side and the widescreen version on the other side. There is no label on the DVD... only very very tiny print on the innermost rim of the disc. You have to have some good eyes to read it.

I highly recommend this movie. But get it on DVD. It wouldn't be half as good on VHS.

A T.S. Eliot quote. A swinging pendulum and spinning hands on a monstrous clock. Countless faded figures moving quickly by.

And in the center of the crush, a man in a cop uniform says (in German), "The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. That's a fact. Everything else is pure theory." He kicks it into the sky.

Well, Tom Tykwer certainly knows how to get our attention. And it's only a few minutes in the kinetic, high-octane, colourful world of "Run Lola Run" -- a wild action/romance that studies the ripple effect of our lives, and the changes we can make in the name of love.

Lola (Franka Potente) receives a call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), a drug courier. Because Lola's moped was stolen, Manni had to take the subway home -- and he accidentally left behind a bag of money. Now he has twenty minutes to somehow get 100,000 marks, or his boss Ronnie is going to kill him.

Lola races across Berlin to her father's bank -- only to find him with his mistress, and hear that he's leaving his other family. Desperate, she runs to where Manni is waiting, and helps him rob a convenience store. But as they flee, the police catch up to them -- and Lola is shot.

"But I don't want to. I don't want to leave," she mutters. And time rewinds to where she left her apartment -- and this time, Lola's determined to do things differently. As she runs from one end of Berlin to another, she sends ripples through the lives of those she passes -- and she'll keep running until she finds a hundred thousand marks to save herself and Manni.

"Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt)" was what propelled Tom Tykwer to international fame. And given that his other movies tend to be slower and more dreamlike -- though no less striking visually -- this movie is striking not only for its speed, but the sweet romance and the lesson about the old "butterfly's wings" adage. (Also see: "Happenstance")

Admittedly, a woman running through Berlin is not terribly interesting in itself. But the world of Lola is filled with brilliant rave colours -- Lola's blazing red hair, colourful room, the sights of Berlin -- and her race against the clock is punctuated by little vignettes of the future lives of various people she bumps into. That momentary contact is enough to change their lives -- sometimes for better, or worse.

And Tykwer's style is a spicy mix -- arty shots (going through a clock mouth or an apartment building?), German techno, cartoon interludes with an animated Lola running for it, Lola changing reality with her screeches, and the snapshots of people's futures, seen only for a second -- but very revealing. Not to mention the equally colourful, MTVesque cartoons of Lola running down stairs, evading dogs, et cetera.

But even aside from Tykwer's artistic flair, it's a great movie -- the atmosphere is painful and taut during the scenes in the bank, including Lola's robbery. And periodically, we see some sweet red-tinted interludes of Manni and Lola in bed, discussing their feelings for each other. They're little oases of calm and love, in the middle of all the running.

Franka Potente does a solid job as Lola, an ordinary punky girl who loves Manni more than anything, and must find the RIGHT way out of their shared dilemma. She gets some nasty surprises from her uptight, adulterous dad, though. And Bleibtreu does magnificently as Manni, who is overcome with fear, frustration and anguish because he knows that his boss is going to kill him.

"Run Lola Run" is a kinetic, vibrant, and a romantic little look at how a moment can change your life. Everything else is pure theory.

Run Lola Run, directed by Tom Tykwer, confronts stereotypes produced by Hollywood, with its unique graphic and audial representation as well as plot technique. Lola, our heroine, has 20 minutes to reach boyfriend Mani with a replacment for the money which he has been placed in charge of and lost. Lola is far from our average American female lead. Her hair is bright red, she's loud, and is imbued with superhuman powers. Not only is she able to sprint all-out for thirty minutes, she also is able to make it accross Berlin in this amount of time, and appears briefly as a cartoon character. Despite all this, in all of the scenarios, Lola never succeeds. Tykwer employs the use of three different senarios that play upon the butterfly effect and illustrate situations that Lola may or may not have experienced on her journey to Mani. The film is very contrary to stereotypes perpetuated by American cinema. Lola is everything but a heroine; she does not possess extraordinary beauty, has no control over her situation, and is unable to succeed in any area of her life it seems. She is unemployed (depicted by her low quality clothing) and so is her boyfriend Mani, apparently.
Tykwer's use of unusual graphic depiction (cartoons), techno ambience (created by the musical track, which does not allow the viewer to rest), and portrayal of Lola as the anti-heroine all create such an unrealistic combination as to contrast and expose the lack of reality in traditional female heroines and movies.
The original tital Lola Rennt (Lola Runs), was translated into Run Lola Run. Lola, who was originally running of her own volition, is now being told to run, presumably by Mani, a source of patriarchy in Lola's life. Lola runs to her father in the scenarios, requesting money from him. She represents the low class female, seeking help from the privileged, wealthy patriarchy. In one scenario, Lola dies, leaving Mani to gaze upon her devastated, unattractive body. Mani comments upon her appearance, leaving Lola once again in the role of the surveyed. In the final scenario, Lola comes to the rescue only to find that Mani has solved his problem, and that her help was unneccesary. Where before Lola has taken charge and responsibility, she is now powerless and useless, again in contrast to the heroine stereotype. The film closes with this thought and is emphasized by the shot of Mani and Lola interlocking hands. Lola is no longer seperate, equal, or powerful, and Mani does not need her.