The unexpected depth in Run, Lola Run

Run, Lola Run was a film that repeated the same 20 minutes of a single day in Lola and Manni’s life four times – an idea so frustrating that it was only saved by the surprising depth that worked itself into Lola’s sprint from her apartment to Manni. Lola’s boyfriend Manni lost a bag of money that he collected for a drug dealer – and he had 20 minutes until this guy was going to show up and kill Manni if he didn’t get the $100,000. Lola is running to stop Manni from doing something drastic. About the third time that I saw Lola hang up the phone and beginning running down the stairs, I almost groaned out loud. I nearly couldn’t stand to watch the exact same thing again, yet this repetition was completely intentional so perhaps the director is laughing at my frustration. I soon forgot this annoyance because I found myself focused on the characters’ actions and reactions (amazing how much can happen within a few street blocks). The details of characters’ pasts and futures that are quickly inserted into the film provoke special attention, and the effects of every person and every car Lola passes on the outcome is clever and complex enough that I might have to watch again to fully understand. With a basic plotline and a short timeline, it was the details that kept me engrossed in this film.
The outcome was easily altered by the slightest change in timing or interactions with others along the way. At first, the effect that Lola had on individual lives – just by passing by them or bumping into them – was laughable, but the more glimpses I was given into individuals’ futures and the way their actions in turn affected Manni or Lola, the more I believed it. Timing is everything and attitude is everything – the effects on the lives we saw seemed over-the-top, but what if it was possible? The first time Lola passed a woman in the bank, she ran past saying “Sorry!” but the second time she passed the woman she screamed at her angrily: “What the f- are you looking at!” It’s difficult to interpret the woman’s reactions to Lola – the polite Lola initiated a reaction in the woman that left her suicidal and dead, but the angry Lola summoned up confidence in the woman who ended up having a sexual affair with the bank teller – but it caused me to reflect on those little moments in life where one interaction can lead to something else.
In addition to such flashes into the future, black and white flashbacks of Manni and Lola gave me more insight into their relationship and more devotion to the characters – I hoped more than ever that they would meet up and find a solution to this mess. In both flashbacks, Manni and Lola were in bed expressing their insecurities- How soon would Lola get over Manni if he died? Why does Manni love Lola and not some other girl? Their honesty and the patient way that the other listens and tries to dismiss these ideas emphasized a tender connection between them, and now I cared about them as well. It’s amazing how a few short moments of a conversation indicated a supportive relationship, and similarly a short moment within the critical 20 minute frame of the story could mean the difference between life and death – for Manni, Lola or even a stranger. It left me reflecting on how critical timing is and how we use it, while we actually have only a slight control over it – after all, only Lola can choose to try again and take it from the top.