Product: Run, Lola, Run [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
one of the best foreign films!
"Run Lola Run" is a magnificent movie set in modern day Germany. It is easily one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. It is entertaining and thoughtful and constantly keeps you visually engaged.Lola's boyfriend, Manni, has lost 100,000 marks that he was ordered to deliver to his boss (an unforgiving gangster) in 20 minutes. If the money is not recovered and delivered within the time allotted, Manni will suffer a terrible fate. He desperately asks Lola for help in this race against time. She jumps around from one disaster to another desperately trying to help. We see three different scenarios of Lola running to save her boyfriend giving us a play on the chaos effect. Tiny details in Lola's quest for the money ultimately change the result of the situation. As things change so do their fates, momentarily touched by her presence running by. The film is a visual display of Tykwer's collaboration of camera, music, and story creating a display of cinematic emotion.The film illustrates a very different kind of female role that strays from the stereotypical portrayal of women. Lola takes on more of a male role as she desperately tries to be the hero in this situation. Her boyfriend is the one who seems incapable and asks for her help. The gender roles are essentially flipped and the stereotypes disappear from the female gender as we see classic beauty and attitude disappear as Lola runs through Germany. But surprisingly, at the end of the story, the female role is present and given to Lola as we see that Manni did not need her after all. They walk away together with Lola being the dependant female pretending that the chaotic journey never happened.