Quality German film-making (Run Lola Run (DVD))

Member Name: Alternum

Product:	Run Lola Run (DVD)
Date:	07/08/00 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original idea; cinematography unlike most other films

Disadvantages: Having to read subtitles may annoy some people

Never before have I been so pleasantly surprised by a film as I was by this one. I went to see it on the very last day of university, purely because I had nothing better to do, and my friend dragged me along to it - and it was probably the best film I saw all term.

The film uses a (fairly) tried and tested premise: something happens, and then you see what would have happened subsequently had very small details been changed, like Sliding Doors in a way. We are told the story of Lola, whose boyfriend Manni has managed to lose 100,000 Deutschmarks on the underground, that he owes to a drug dealer. The dealer is turning up in 20 minutes, and it is down to Lola to somehow find the money and get to Manni within the 20 minute period - hence the running.

You get, packed into about 90 minutes, an introduction followed by three possible 'endings' to the film, which are separated out by what I would almost call 'interludes', which don't have any real connection to the rest of the film.. I'll let you judge them for yourself.

The obvious thing to note about the film is that it is in German, with English subtitles. But don't, for a second, let that put you off. It's not really a problem as a more than average amount of the film is visual-based, and the subtitles don't distract in any way.

The action is fast-paced, the dialogue is at least fairly good, and you find yourself really getting into the film, really rooting for the best possible outcome for the characters. It draws you in: that's the best possible explanation for it. This is a masterful, original piece of film-making and I would recommend it to anyone.

Summary: