Run Lola Run – Movie Review Example

Running Head: RUN LOLA RUN Film Review: Run Lola Run October 10, Run Lola Run" - Story of a desperate run by Lola to save her boyfriends life. Highly recommended for those who like a new and unique storyline and taut, edge of the seat thrills. MPAA Rating: *****. My Rating: *****
Lola, played by Franka Potente has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 DM and save her boyfriend Moritz Bleibtreu, played by Manni. The film has multiple perspectives with three alternative storyline along with, non-stop action. The film has won 41 international awards.
Dateline and By-line: Reviewed on 10 October 2013 in USA by: Mr. XYZ
Where: The film was released on 20 August 1998 and is available on DVD and BluRay. It is also available for free viewing on Alluc (Alluc, 2010) and it can be purchased from Amazon (Amazon, 2013).
Introduction: The film belongs to the action and thriller genre and it has a running time of 80 minutes. The film starts with Lola getting a call from her boyfriend, a minor gangster who has lost a bag containing 100,000 DM. A contract killer will come and kill him and in desperation, he calls Lola. She decides to collect the money from her father, a banker. Rest of the film is based on her run to get the money. The film has three alternative storylines with different endings. The film has adopted a unique and fast approach in telling the story and is a must watch for those interested in small budget films that are fast and with simple and direct themes. Director of the film is Tom Tykwer who has directed films such as "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer", "The International and Cloud Atlas", "Heaven" and others. Main actors are Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri and others (Maslin, 2011).
Actors Roles/ Performance: The main character is Lola, played by Franka Potente, a German actor and singer who has acted in more than 30 films including the Bourne film series and who has won many awards. The boyfriends role of Manni is played by Moritz Bleibtreu who has acted in more than 20 films such as "World War Z", "Young Goethe in Love", "The Fourth State" and others. The role of Papa is played by Herbert Knaup who has acted in about nine films such as "In Darkness", "Jerry Cotton" and others. Narration is provided by Hans Paetsch, a famous narrator for German documentaries and children films and who has acted in more than six films (IMDB, 2010). Other characters in the film include a punk with a dog, a blind woman, a homeless man, the banker, a security guard, cyclist and others (Film Education, 2013).
Story line/ Plot/ Location: Shot in Berlin, the film starts with Lola getting a call from Manni, a petty criminal who has collected 100,000 DM and forgotten the bag with the cash on a train. Manni frantically tells Lola that he must obtain the cash in 20 minutes else his mafia boss will send a gangster to kill him. Lola then starts running to ask her Papa, a bank manager for the money and the film is made of three runs. In each run, Lola collides with people and each collision leads to a different story. In the first run, Lola sees a dog that she avoids and bumps into a woman with a baby carriage. After a series of events, Lola reaches her father in the bank only to be told that his mistress is pregnant and that Lola is not his biological daughter and he then abandons her. Lola meets Manni and they rob a store only to be shot by the police where she dies (Wilson, 1999).
In the second run, Lola is scared by the dog and she falls and injures her leg. She reaches the after a series of events bank and after confronting her father, decides to rob the bank. She then meets Manni who is hit by an ambulance and dies. In the third run, Lola goes through the same events but with different storylines and stops at a casino where she wins 122,500 DM and she meets up with Manni who has recovered his lost money and now he does not want the cash that Lola has brought. Many of the events between Lola and others are told as flash forward events (Wilson, 1999).
Other Cinematic Characteristics: The film has used fast paced action with many cinematographic techniques. Some techniques used include slow and fast motion, animation, jump cuts, whip pans, intercut color and black and white, split-screen, segment titles, and others. The music is a fast techno soundtrack with alternate string chords (Wilson, 1999).
Comparing to other movies: Other films have not been made with this type of alternate storylines and different endings. The film has some unique concepts and narration.
Conclusion: The film is admirable and worth watching. It provides a different view of how small budget films can have a deep impact on cinematography.

Alluc, (2013). Run Lola Run watch free online. Retrieved from
Amazon, (2013). Buy Run Lola Run. Retrieved from
Film Education, (2013). Run Lola Run: Film Education. Retrieved from
IMDB, (2010). Run Lola Run, film discography and actors biography. Retrieved from
Maslin. J., (2011). Run Lola Run Story and review. Retrieved from
Wilson. B., (1999). Run Lola Run: Reflections. Retrieved from