In "Lola Rennt" the boyfriend of Lola has lost DM 100.000 of gangster money which he has to hand over to the gang leader in 20 minutes. Failure te do so means a sure death. Lola starts running to her father (a bank manager) in order to save her boyfriend. She keeps on running the whole movie. Seldom did a film title give such an accurate summary of the "storyline".
"Lola rennt" has a dynamic, video clip style. The association with music clips is enhanced by a prominent sound track. On her way Lola passes by different people and sometimes a fast forward of the future lives of these people is displayed by a compilation of snapshots. All in all the visual style of the movie made me think of the work of the "Cinema du look" directors (Luc Besson, Jean Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax) who were active in France during the same period.
The story of Lola running to save her boyfriend is told three times. On leaving her home Lola meets an aggresive dog. Depending on her reaction to this dog, she leaves the appartment building a minute earlier or a minute later. This has great consequences for the situation at hand when she enters the office of her father and ultimately also for the way the story ends.
The three parallel story lines from "Lola Rennt" are not to be confused with the multiple story lines in for example a film like "Rashomon" (1950, Akira Kurosawa). In "Rashomon" there are different memories of the same event, although at the end of the film the question if the objective truth regarding this event really exists lingers on. The point of "Lola Rennt" on the other hand is that reality can develop very differently depending on small differences in the starting situation. The idea that the wing stroke of a butterfly can cause a hurricane in another part of the world due to a chain of totally unpredicatble cause effect relationships. This applies to the main characters but also to the casual passers by. Their lives develops very differently (as shown by the compilation of snapshots) depending on the fact whether or not they are knocked over by Lola. It is no coincidence that in the last story a casino plays an important part, because in the world of "Lola Rennt" life is ruled by pure chance.
Pure chance is not the only important thing in "Lola rennt". Pure love is another important theme. After all Lola is willing to go to great length to save her boyfriend, who objectively speaking is not likable at all. This love is discussed in bedroom conversations, that form the resting points between the three parallel storylines.
"Lola rennt" has a dynamic, video clip style. The association with music clips is enhanced by a prominent sound track. On her way Lola passes by different people and sometimes a fast forward of the future lives of these people is displayed by a compilation of snapshots. All in all the visual style of the movie made me think of the work of the "Cinema du look" directors (Luc Besson, Jean Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax) who were active in France during the same period.
The story of Lola running to save her boyfriend is told three times. On leaving her home Lola meets an aggresive dog. Depending on her reaction to this dog, she leaves the appartment building a minute earlier or a minute later. This has great consequences for the situation at hand when she enters the office of her father and ultimately also for the way the story ends.
The three parallel story lines from "Lola Rennt" are not to be confused with the multiple story lines in for example a film like "Rashomon" (1950, Akira Kurosawa). In "Rashomon" there are different memories of the same event, although at the end of the film the question if the objective truth regarding this event really exists lingers on. The point of "Lola Rennt" on the other hand is that reality can develop very differently depending on small differences in the starting situation. The idea that the wing stroke of a butterfly can cause a hurricane in another part of the world due to a chain of totally unpredicatble cause effect relationships. This applies to the main characters but also to the casual passers by. Their lives develops very differently (as shown by the compilation of snapshots) depending on the fact whether or not they are knocked over by Lola. It is no coincidence that in the last story a casino plays an important part, because in the world of "Lola Rennt" life is ruled by pure chance.
Pure chance is not the only important thing in "Lola rennt". Pure love is another important theme. After all Lola is willing to go to great length to save her boyfriend, who objectively speaking is not likable at all. This love is discussed in bedroom conversations, that form the resting points between the three parallel storylines.