Run Lola Run [Lola Rennt] **** (1998, Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup) – Classic Movie Review 4933

Writer-director Tom Tykwer’s fast-moving, freewheeling, inventive 1998 German crime thriller movie shows three different versions of the same story – Lola (Franca Potente)’s fleet-footed attempt to save her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu)’s skin.

Manni calls Lola to tell her he has lost on a subway train 100,000 Deutsche marks belonging to a bad guy. Lola has 20 minutes to come up with the 100,000 Deutsche marks and meet Manni with it or he will risk his life to rob a store to get the money.

Each version has a different ending – the happy one being saved for last, of course!

Tykwer’s film is very hip, kinetic and exciting.

Also in the cast are Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Krol and Ludger Pistor.

The three scenarios recall Krzysztof Kieślowski’s 1981 film Blind Chance and, after Kieślowski’s death, Tykwer directed his planned film Heaven (2002), a romantic thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi.

It runs 80 minutes, is produced by Bavaria, WDR and X-Filme, is released by Columbia, is shot by Frank Griebe, is produced by Maria Kopf and Stefan Arndt, and scored by Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer.

Tykwer is the director of Heaven (2002), Perfume (2006), Cloud Atlas and A Hologram for the King (2016).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 4933

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Tom Tykwer was born in 1965 in Wuppertal, Germany.