Review of Run Lola Run

This short film by Tom Tykwer is a gem of late 90's cinema. It's a masterpiece. Perhaps I'm partial to it because I have studied European history, culture, languages, and cinema. I suppose you could call me a Europhile. I am usually in awe of anything from Europe and this film was no exception. The film had several shots of amazing camera work, the narrative was not formulaic, it always kept you guessing, there was no use of the star system, archetypes, etc. The narrative is simple and short. It is told three times over with each time resulting in a different ordering of the events and the consequences of those events.

I think the way the story is told is, perhaps, the most unique thing about Run Lola Run. I liked how each story changed. It was self referential in the way it referred to itself. This film was clearly a post-modern film. It used nonlinear narrative structures and the editing was commendable as it totally violated some of the rules of Hollywood editing style. For example the giant crane shots that swirled around Franka Potente's character was something that was, at the time, new to Cinema. It was shots like these that demonstrates how Run Lola Run is a truly innovative film.

The film could be compared to several films like Pulp Fiction and the recent Tykwer collaboration with the Waichowski's Cloud Atlast. I haven't seen any other Tykwer films so I can't speak with any authority about how Run Lola Run fits into his ouerve. But, Run Lola Run was an international hit primarily on the festival circuit. Run Lola Run is clearly a precedent for a film like Cloud Atlas because of both films manipulation of film narrative structure. In both films the narratives crosscut between characters, time, and place. One shot that is a clear example of this is where Franka's character is running to stop Manni from robbing the grocery store. This shot shows Franka, Manni, and a clock ticking by. It reminded me of some 70's American films like Shaft. Whatever the genesis of the shot it was engrossing and built tension to the final resolution of the film.

The film does slow and ebb a bit when Franka's character goes into the Casino. I'm not much for gambling so, perhaps, that is why I found the sequence uneventful. All in all a great, albeit short, film. I would have liked it had the film gone on or another hour or so. But, again, I'm a self confessed Europhile so, perhaps, I'm a little biased.