On his way to the drop-off, Lola's boyfriend Manni loses a bag containing 100,000 marks, belonging to the local gang, on the subway. Desperate and exasperated he calls up his girlfriend from a phonebooth and she is determined to help him and now Lola has 20 minutes to run, find the money, and deliver them to Manni before he robs the convenience store.
There are precious few films to which I award the perfect 10/10 and "Lola Rennt" (1998) is one of them. I think German director Tykwer has done something really cool here to fit our fast-paced generation; he has tailored the perfect adrenaline-pumping ride, filled it with interesting characters, philosophical notions and overdoses of flair and fury. Sure, it's mostly style when you think about it, but it fits the concept it's simple and totally brilliant. The film has Lola (an energetic Franka Potente) run across the city, bumping into strangers, falling prey to detours and diversions such as the typical huge sheet of glass plate carried by construction workers, the group of nuns, the woman with a baby carriage but always keeping her focus on the task at hand. She loves Manny, and she WILL help him. This way, Lola is an extremely likable heroine.
So does she succeed? Well, the film reaches its culmination alright three times. As Lola makes her way to Manni for the first time, it pauses, interjects a meaningful flashback, rewinds and starts all over again, zooming back to when Lola received the call from Manni. Each time her journey is different from the last, fantastically navigating the "what ifs" and "should have, could have, would haves" of the situation. Sometimes her journey is subtly different the smallest thing, the butterfly effect, giving rise to some changes in pace and sometimes it brings about a new scenario altogether. This part is so exquisitely well-crafted that if you study the background elements you will find differing details such as the position of the train in relation to Lola in the beginning, the careful timing of vehicles and the fated movements of the people she encounters it's a meticulous piece of film-making.
For all its subtlety in craft and setting, Lola Rennt is first and foremost a very vibrant and alive film and dare I say very in-your-face. I really can't stress this enough. This vibrancy manifests itself in the hectic adrenaline-boosting pace of the run, the vivid colourizations, Franka Potente's flaming red hair and high-pitched screams and the fast-beating techno music that plays furiously in the background. It is so fast and alive in fact, that once a pause is inserted it becomes both poignant and welcomed, giving depth to the story by exploring Lola and Manni's love (in the flashback between the journeys).
Aside from the cartoon device (in which the live-action cuts to a poorly-sketched cartoon figure of Lola) which I felt was redundant in an already interesting film, Lola Rennt really is a lesson in style (that Tony Scott could benefit from taking, by the way). Tykwer goes all the way here especially for the third journey which is more aggressive and determined, and the result is something glorious that easily makes my top 20 films list.
10 out of 10
There are precious few films to which I award the perfect 10/10 and "Lola Rennt" (1998) is one of them. I think German director Tykwer has done something really cool here to fit our fast-paced generation; he has tailored the perfect adrenaline-pumping ride, filled it with interesting characters, philosophical notions and overdoses of flair and fury. Sure, it's mostly style when you think about it, but it fits the concept it's simple and totally brilliant. The film has Lola (an energetic Franka Potente) run across the city, bumping into strangers, falling prey to detours and diversions such as the typical huge sheet of glass plate carried by construction workers, the group of nuns, the woman with a baby carriage but always keeping her focus on the task at hand. She loves Manny, and she WILL help him. This way, Lola is an extremely likable heroine.
So does she succeed? Well, the film reaches its culmination alright three times. As Lola makes her way to Manni for the first time, it pauses, interjects a meaningful flashback, rewinds and starts all over again, zooming back to when Lola received the call from Manni. Each time her journey is different from the last, fantastically navigating the "what ifs" and "should have, could have, would haves" of the situation. Sometimes her journey is subtly different the smallest thing, the butterfly effect, giving rise to some changes in pace and sometimes it brings about a new scenario altogether. This part is so exquisitely well-crafted that if you study the background elements you will find differing details such as the position of the train in relation to Lola in the beginning, the careful timing of vehicles and the fated movements of the people she encounters it's a meticulous piece of film-making.
For all its subtlety in craft and setting, Lola Rennt is first and foremost a very vibrant and alive film and dare I say very in-your-face. I really can't stress this enough. This vibrancy manifests itself in the hectic adrenaline-boosting pace of the run, the vivid colourizations, Franka Potente's flaming red hair and high-pitched screams and the fast-beating techno music that plays furiously in the background. It is so fast and alive in fact, that once a pause is inserted it becomes both poignant and welcomed, giving depth to the story by exploring Lola and Manni's love (in the flashback between the journeys).
Aside from the cartoon device (in which the live-action cuts to a poorly-sketched cartoon figure of Lola) which I felt was redundant in an already interesting film, Lola Rennt really is a lesson in style (that Tony Scott could benefit from taking, by the way). Tykwer goes all the way here especially for the third journey which is more aggressive and determined, and the result is something glorious that easily makes my top 20 films list.
10 out of 10