“Run Lola Run"

By Andrew Smith
FlipSide film critic

When people think of Germany, movies are usually not the first thing to come to mind. Beer, yes. Bratwurst, maybe. The autobahn, sure. But movies? Not so much.

And while it is true that Germany isn’t exactly a renowned hotbed of cinema, that isn’t to say the country hasn’t produced any noteworthy films. In 1998, Germany produced one of the most original movies ever made - the award-winning “Lola rennt,” better known to American audiences as “Run Lola Run.”

An international sensation and instant cult classic upon its release, “Run Lola Run” owes its huge popularity to its unique nature. Clocking in at a brisk 80 minutes, the film combines multiple realities, an incessant techno beat, vibrant colors, split screens, still-shots, animated sequences and every type of sped-up or slowed-down photography conceivable.

It’s a film specifically aimed at the MTV generation. It’s nonlinear and entirely unconventional, but that’s not to say it lacks intelligence or even brilliance.

The story, what little there is of it, is simple: Lola, a young Berliner, is the girlfriend of small-time criminal Manni, whose job is to deliver 100,000 Deutsche Marks to his boss by noon. However, in a panic, Manni accidentally leaves the bag of money in the subway, where it is stolen by a homeless bum.

Manni knows he’ll be killed if he doesn’t get his boss the money, so he calls Lola, hysterical. He begs her to somehow come up with the money and bring it to him by noon, which by this point, is a mere 20 minutes away. Lola, seeing no other option, bolts out the door to sprint through the streets of Berlin and find the money any way she can.

What makes “Run Lola Run” so unique is the method in which the story is told. The film presents us with three possible outcomes to the story, each entirely different from the other. The movie essentially repeats the same 20-minute sequence three times over, starting from the point Lola leaves her apartment.

The outcome of each “reality” differs vastly, with the largest of differences coming from the tiniest of actions the characters take in each of the scenarios. The film further expounds upon this idea by showing, in lightening-fast flashes, how even the lives of seemingly superfluous people on the street, who have no real importance to the story at hand, are changed drastically by their chance encounters with Lola.

If there was ever a film that truly examined the so-called “butterfly effect,” this would be it.

Simply put, “Run Lola Run” is quite unlike anything else in cinema. There is no frame of reference, no similar movies to compare it to — nothing close to it exists.

True, the film does take inspiration from American classics like “Vertigo” and “High Noon,” but it resembles those movies in only the vaguest of ways. The film’s twisted, nonlinear storytelling methods are similar to those Hitchcock employed but on steroids (or, more likely, ecstasy, when the nonstop techno music and rainbow colors are taken into account).

Whatever its influences, the film left a massive impact on global popular culture. References to the film have shown up in everything from TV shows like “The Simpsons” to the music of bands like Yellowcard.

Over-the-top and ridiculous, though immensely enjoyable, “Run Lola Run” is top-notch pop entertainment. It’s unusual, but it lacks the pretentiousness found in so many art films.

It will satisfy anyone looking for something different to watch. Best of all, it’s international popularity makes it easy to find, so there is no reason not to see this film.