Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) is Lola's boyfriend who is apparently hoping to prove himself in the world of organized crime. Through some unfortunate circumstances he owes a mobster a large amount of money and if he doesn't have it in the next twenty minutes, his head is gonna roll. Being the only one he can turn to, Lola takes off running, determined to come up with the cash somehow in order to save him.
What follows is an odd action montage that mainly consists of Lola running and unusual/uncomfortable circumstances occurring along the way, including finding out that her father is leaving them. If this was my only experience with German cinema I would conclude that it is a lot like French films, but with much less nudity and much more techno music. It certainly had that odd European flavor to it that has to do with focusing on bizarre pieces of characters' lives before fleeting off, likely not to revisit them.
I knew about the twist going into the movie but I won't spoil it here. The twist, which is the element of the movie that made it stand out, is never actually explained, you just have to accept that it happens. It's never really fully realized either and I think had much more potential. The whole thing felt a little silly - though I concede that because I was eating dinner while watching I had it playing with the English dub so that I wouldn't have to read subtitles and the dubbing was sort of almost terrible.
Run Lola Run was more or less enjoyable, but I don't see it deserving of the near unanimous praise that gets heaped upon it. It never quite decides if it is an art film or an action piece. I also never really find myself caring about Manni so there is little invested in what happens in the end of Lola's run.
It was worth watching, but not as great as I expected.
***(3/5 stars)
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