Cast: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
Director: Tom Tykwer
Rating:
Enetertainment Quotient: 80%
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Language: German
Running time: 81 min
MPAA rating: R

Synopsis:
Lola (Franka Potente) gets a frantic call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). He has misplaced 100,000 deutschmarks to be delivered to his mafia boss. He has just 20 minutes of time before meeting his boss. He asks his girlfriend Lola to somehow bring him that amount. The film is all about how minute differences in time, choice and fate can result in an entirely different result.

What is special in the film?
I think that Run Lola Run is a timeless masterpiece. Though this film was made in 1998, not a single film matches the style and presentation this film has until now (2006). There is thrill, high-octane action, love, emotional struggle, philosophy and crime in this twenty-minute story. Franka Potente is brilliant in this energetic role.

1. Narration pattern: The pattern chosen for narrating this concept is excellent. He uses a wide range of techniques
2. Time/Fate/Choice: This film explores how fate, choices and time can result in different situations
3. Versions: The film has three versions of 25 minutes each. Each version goes through the same routine, but with slight changes in time, which leads to three entirely different climaxes
5. Editing: The editing is sensational.
6. Use of animation: The animation of Lola that comes in the beginning of the episode is cool.
7. Cinematography: Cinematography is exceptionally good.
8. Music: Music is racy. You can find many similarities of the background music to the music album ‘Enigma’.  There are Indian aalaps in the 3rd version (Lola entering Casino & Climax)

The scenes I liked in this film?

1. Robbery: Lola runs out of the bank after robbing it and finds a hoard of cops surrounding the building. She is shell-shocked as she is caught. However, interestingly those cops ask her to quickly get away thinking that robbers are inside. (No cop expects a single teenage girl to loot a bank!). That is what lateral thinking is all about. This is one of the very few ‘lateral thinking’ scenes I have seen.(17th Chapter & 48 minutes)

2. Ambulance & Glass: Ambulance hitting a huge glass pane. This is a superb classic shot of the entire film. A visual treat. (18th Chapter & 49.41 minutes)

3. Scream: The glass is shattered due to the intensity of Lola’s voice when she screams. All the glass-shattering scenes are good and the one in Casino is exceptionally good

4. Future in snapshots: The future of certain people Lola comes across is explained in snapshots. This technique has already been adapted in Dhoom (one and two) in which Ali characters dreams about his future.

5. Philosophical conversation: Just before their death, the protagonists think about the philosophical conversation they had in bed, which talks about death

6. Cut to the clock: Since it is a time-based film, the camera automatically reaches the nearby clock. The most impressive of such shots is the one that happens in the Casino. (25th Chapter & 1.09 minutes)

Similar Films: Memento, Sliding Doors, Pulp Fiction (narration techniques)

Tailpiece:Director Tom Tykwer matches the directorial excellence of Quentin Tarantino. I have watched Run Lola Run for the fourth time and am as excited as when I watched it for the first time.

Copycat: The narration pattern of Run Lola Run is used in an insignificant Telugu film titled ‘Please Naku Pellaindi’. The climax of this film too has three different versions.