Product: Run, Lola, Run [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 3.0
"How do we know what we believe to know?"
Tom Tykwer`s "Run Lola Run" is a breath of fresh air. There is so much creativity and vision in this small film that it stands alone against the overblown star vehicles the major studios keep forcing upon us. It is a film brimming with energy and inspiration and a powerful salvo against Hollywood conventionalism.Lola (Franka Potente) is told by her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) that he has lost a bag with 100,000 deutsche marks in it. She realizes that he will most likely be killed if the money is not delivered to the gangster Manni was supposed to meet. This realization starts Lola off on a quest to come up with the funds on her own. With time running out, Lola bolts out of her apartment and runs . . . and runs . . . and runs . . ."Run Lola Run" is a treatise on the infinite possibilities a single situation can spawn. It is a metaphysical examination of how the choices we make will affect us forever and how the actions of others can profoundly influence the circumstances of our lives. Yet, on a more simplistic level, it is also an energetic display of filmmaking at its most creative. Its unique use of freeze frames, novel camera angles, instant replays, and animation is proof that Tykwer is determined to give us a viewing experience unlike anything we've ever seen before. With a pulsating soundtrack and a bravura performance by Potente to complement his boundless creativity, Tykwer succeeds in creating a truly original work. Here's hoping that his example will inspire the current generation of filmmakers to test their own creative limits in the hopes of surpassing the standard set by "Run Lola Run."