So German!

70 Years of German Films

The anniversary film series shows some of the most successful German films of the last seven decades.

Run, Lola, Run

Lola rennt
Director: Tom Tykwer
Year: 1998
Runtime: 81 min
Screenplay: Tom Tykwer
Cinematography: Frank Griebe
Editors: Mathilde Bonnefoy
Cast: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup

Festivals and Awards
Venice Film Festival 1998 (Competition)

The race against time is a classic narrative element of cinema. The ticking clock. Director Tom Tykwer used this element to give an extra boost to another element that appeals to him in cinema – the “what if“ scenario.

Manni is in real trouble. He has left the plastic bag containing the 100,000 Deutschmarks he was supposed to be handing over to a fence back in the underground train that he hadn’t actually wanted to use in the first place. In desperation, he calls Lola, his girlfriend. She has 20 minutes to get the money and bring it to Manni. So Lola has to start running. And go down the same route three time because the film uses this little gangster story moving at a fast pace and with all kinds of variations to show how chance and fate can be interconnected. Every little encounter has an effect like the butterfly flapping its wings in the chaos theory, and these effects are presented in the film with flash-forward sequences of still images.

And Lola‘s journey through the German capital becomes a breathtaking sightseeing tour away from familiar tourist clichés. The film is an exploration of emotions and experiences. Philosophy on the asphalt of the big city. And naturally also an expression of joy at the most impossible possibilities of cinematic storytelling.

The film also marked the beginning of different international careers for director Tom Tykwer and his lead actress Franka Potente. RUN LOLA RUN was particularly well received in the US.