Lola rennt (1998)

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer:

Tom Tykwer (writer)

Release Date:

18 June 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Jeden Tag, jede Sekunde triffst Du eine Entscheidung, die Dein Leben verändern kann.

Plot:

A young woman in Germany has twenty minutes to find and bring 100,000 Deutschmarks to her boyfriend before he robs a supermarket.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Subway | Fate | Bank | Run

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 26 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Franka Potente	...	Lola
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Manni
Herbert Knaup	...	Vater
Nina Petri	...	Jutta Hansen
Armin Rohde	...	Herr Schuster
Joachim Król	...	Norbert von Au
Ludger Pistor	...	Herr Meier
Suzanne von Borsody	...	Frau Jäger
Sebastian Schipper	...	Mike
Julia Lindig	...	Doris
Lars Rudolph	...	Herr Kruse
Andreas Petri	...	Sanitäter
Klaus Müller	...	Croupier
Utz Krause	...	Casino-Manager
Beate Finckh	...	Casino-Kassiererin

Also Known As:

Run Lola Run (UK) (USA)
Lola Runs (USA) (literal English title)
Run, Lola, Run (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

81 min | USA:80 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18PL | Germany:16 (DVD) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Behrenstraße, St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Company:

X-Filme Creative Pool

Trivia:

Tom Tykwer hated the empty space on the wall and asked production designer Alexander Manasse to paint a picture of Kim Novak as she was in Vertigo (1958). But Alexander didn't remember what she looked like, so Tom suggested he painted her from behind. Alexander completed the picture within fifteen minutes.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In each of the three stories, Lola runs alongside an ambulance. The patient in the ambulance is the bank guard that was having chest pains (visible in the second story) and not someone that was only injured in one of the stories.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[subtitled version]
Narrator: Man... probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of unanswered questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we think we know? Why do we believe anything at all? Countless questions in search of an answer... an answer that will give rise to a new question... and the next answer will give rise to the next question and so on. But, in the end, isn't it always the same question? And always the same answer?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Beneath You (#7.2)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Supermarket

Riveting action, dynamic sound track, and brilliant editing had me hooked from the first frame.

The concepts are simple. How do our actions affect our own lives, as well as those whom we touch? What part do chance and random events play in determining an outcome? Can we select a different result by making different choices? In short, what is reality? Well, maybe it isn't all that simple, but while others have plowed these same fertile fields, as recently as the film "Go", and also in "The Music of Chance", based on Paul Auster's novel, no one has dealt with such cosmic existential questions with more brilliant originality, fast paced action, and a pulsing score than in this German cinematic masterpiece.

In a compact ninety minutes, combining snips of animation, cinema verité, quirky characters, situations and dialogue, and a pace that makes most music videos look like they've been filmed in slow motion, three versions of the same story sequence unfold, and each time conclude with a jolting finish that defies convention, and keeps the viewer guessing until the final frame.

This is one of those rare cinematic events that is entertaining, satisfying, and absorbing, as well as flawlessly acted, staged, edited, produced and directed. I thought that Lola ran her race with flair and style, and left all others way behind in the dust.