Event calendar

All Events

Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt)

DFI Cinema

/ Feature Narrative / Germany / 1998 / Colour and B&W
In English, German, Japanese / Arabic, English subtitles
N/A
Rated: Mature subject matter. Not suitable for minors. Individuals under the age of 18 are not admitted into cinemas.


  • Come back soon to see screening dates

Synopsis

Lola has 20 minutes to come up with a huge sum of money that her boyfriend Manni owes to a local hood. A snap decision is required – but which option might lead to the desired outcome? Time is a series of choices, each affecting the one that comes next – so, like a choose-your-own-adventure book, ‘Run Lola Run’ explores three potential storylines, each stemming from a single moment.

A fantastically engaging take on the thriller film, ‘Run Lola Run’ provides a jolt of pleasure akin to meandering through an unfamiliar video game. As elements we saw in the first storyline are repeated but modified in the second and third, we wonder how everything is going to turn out this time; then, when the results are not quite right, we reset the story and give it another go.

Director Tom Tykwer’s film was an international phenomenon on its release. It addresses themes like time, chance and free will using a pastiche of stylistic choices – among them classic cinema, fantastical drama, handheld video, music-video editing speed, rapidly sequenced still photos, animation, a kicker of a techno soundtrack and a repetitive structure – to create a masterpiece of postmodern filmmaking.