Lola rennt (1998)

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writer:

Tom Tykwer (writer)

Release Date:

18 June 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Jeden Tag, jede Sekunde triffst Du eine Entscheidung, die Dein Leben verändern kann.

Plot:

A young woman in Germany has twenty minutes to find and bring 100,000 Deutschmarks to her boyfriend before he robs a supermarket.

Plot Keywords:

Phone Call | Lotto | Fantasy | Shampoo | Girlfriend

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 26 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Franka Potente	...	Lola
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Manni
Herbert Knaup	...	Vater
Nina Petri	...	Jutta Hansen
Armin Rohde	...	Herr Schuster
Joachim Król	...	Norbert von Au
Ludger Pistor	...	Herr Meier
Suzanne von Borsody	...	Frau Jäger
Sebastian Schipper	...	Mike
Julia Lindig	...	Doris
Lars Rudolph	...	Herr Kruse
Andreas Petri	...	Sanitäter
Klaus Müller	...	Croupier
Utz Krause	...	Casino-Manager
Beate Finckh	...	Casino-Kassiererin
Volkhard Buff	...	Krankenwagenfahrer (as Volkhart Buff)
Heino Ferch	...	Ronnie
Ute Lubosch	...	Mutter
Dora Raddy	...	Die Alte
Monica Bleibtreu	...	Die Blinde
Peter Pauli	...	Wachmann Supermarkt
Marc Bischoff	...	Polizist
Hans Paetsch	...	Erzähler (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
J.P. Johannsen	...	Bank clerk through door (uncredited)

Directed by
Tom Tykwer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tom Tykwer		writer

Produced by
Stefan Arndt	....	producer
Gebhard Henke	....	producer: WDR
Maria Köpf	....	executive producer
Maria Köpf	....	line producer
Andreas Schreitmüller	....	producer: ARTE

Original Music by
Reinhold Heil
Johnny Klimek
Tom Tykwer

Cinematography by
Frank Griebe

Film Editing by
Mathilde Bonnefoy

Casting by
An Dorthe Braker

Production Design by
Alexander Manasse

Art Direction by
Attila Saygel

Set Decoration by
Irene Otterpohl

Costume Design by
Monika Jacobs

Makeup Department
Babette Bröseke	....	makeup artist
Christa Krista	....	hair designer: Lola
Margit Neufink	....	makeup artist (as Margrit Neufink)
Jekaterina Oertel	....	additional makeup artist (as Jekatarina Oertel)

Production Management
Ralph Brosche	....	production manager
Swantje Matthaei	....	executive in charge of production
Carsten Neumärker	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chris Brighton	....	assistant director
Sebastian Fahr-Brix	....	assistant director (as Sebastian Fahr)

Art Department
Stella-Nicoletta Drossa	....	art department trainee
Cary Gayler	....	prop buyer
Katja Kiesewetter	....	art department trainee
Sonja König	....	stand-by propwoman
Micha Korok	....	art department trainee

Sound Department
Frank Behnke	....	sound
Normann Büttner	....	foley recordist
Nanett Creutzburg	....	sound assistant
Günther Friedhoff	....	dialogue recordist (as Günter Friedhoff)
Dirk Jacob	....	sound designer
Matthias Lempert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Markus Münz	....	sound editor
Jörn Poetzl	....	foley artist (as Joern Poetzl)
Kai Storck	....	sound editor
Marita Strotkötter	....	sound coordinator: post-production
Gunther Kortwich	....	sound equipment provider (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roland Tropp	....	special effects
Gerd Voll	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Nastuh Abootalebi	....	digital domino effects
Manfred Büttner	....	visual effects production manager
George Maihöfer	....	digital artist
Claudius Schulz	....	graphics artist
Thomas Tannenberger	....	senior effects producer
Dominik Trimborn	....	digital domino effects: das werk
Andreas Schellenberg	....	visual effects coordinator (uncredited)

Stunts
Rossi Alvarez	....	stunts
Micha Bornhütter	....	pane carrier
Susanne Braun	....	sport trainer
Berno Buff	....	pane carrier
Volkhard Buff	....	stunt driver
Frank Christoffer	....	stunt driver
Ralf Häger	....	bmw guy (as Ralf Haeger)
Frank Jablonski	....	bmw guy
Sascha Kuchenbuch	....	stunt driver
Stefan Manteuffel	....	stunt driver
Piet Paes	....	stunt driver
Leo Plank	....	stunt driver
Emanuel Raasch	....	bmw guy
Daniela Stein	....	pane carrier (as Dani Stein)
Andi Stein-Strauss	....	pane carrier

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Alert	....	camera equipment
Michael Alert	....	lighting equipment
Tilman Büttner	....	steadicam operator
Fred Dombrowka	....	gaffer
Martin Fischer	....	additional electrician
Olof Fock	....	rigging grip
Wolfgang Franke	....	dolly grip
Frank Griebe	....	photographer
Mikesch Groht	....	steadicam operator
Jan Hartmann	....	assistant camera
Jan Hartmann	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Jan Hoffmann	....	assistant camera: second unit
Sebastian Jahnke	....	additional lighting technician
Oliver Krönke	....	rigging grip
Marc Kubik	....	director of photography: second unit (as Marik Kubik)
Klaus Liebertz	....	steadicam operator
Oliver Liliensiek	....	lighting technician
Sebastian Meuschel	....	steadicam operator
Martin Petersmann	....	rigging grip
Susanna Salonen	....	director of photography: second unit
Andie Schneider	....	key grip
Anja Simon	....	apprentice camera operator
Bernd Spauke	....	still photographer
Andi Stein-Strauss	....	additional lighting technician
Christof Wahl	....	steadicam operator
Robert Wedemeyer	....	best boy dolly grip
Gudrun F. Widlok	....	still photographer
Jens Winkler	....	additional electrician

Animation Department
Gil Alkabetz	....	animation designer
Ralf Bohde	....	animator
Robert Mack	....	film exposure: animation
Thomas Meyer-Herrmann	....	executive producer: animation

Casting Department
Nessie Nesslauer	....	casting consultant
Barbara Schernthaner	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ingrid Buhrmann	....	wardrober
Sabine Groh	....	apprentice costumer

Editorial Department
Harald Ehinger	....	colorist: animation (as Hari Ehinger)
Anne Fabini	....	assistant editor
Nurit Israeli	....	post-production: animation
Martin Licht	....	post-production trainee
Sonja Müller	....	colorist: animation
Ruth Raatz	....	color timer
Cornelia Schumann	....	negative cutter (as Cornelia Schühmann)
Armin Vetter	....	post-production: animation
Johannes Weuthen	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Stefan Broedner	....	music supervisor
Klaus Frers	....	music supervisor
Shiro Gutzie	....	soundtrack executive consultant
Franka Potente	....	composer: theme song "I Wish" and others

Transportation Department
Jens Schlemmer	....	property driver
Stefan Schuster	....	production driver
Hannes Staehle	....	production driver

Other crew
Achim	....	traffic blocker
Michael Alert	....	set equipment
Mirko Andreas	....	caterer
Ute Bergien	....	production trainee
Bernhard	....	traffic blocker
Carsten	....	traffic blocker
Christian	....	traffic blocker
Folker	....	traffic blocker
Didier Franque	....	caterer
Grete	....	traffic blocker
Dorit Günter	....	cleaning woman: Schmitz
Carsten Gutschmidt	....	apprentice lighting technician
Susanne Hahn	....	production assistant
Jan Hoffmann	....	aerial photography: helicopter
Liane Jessen	....	project development
Jörgen	....	traffic blocker
Norbert Keil	....	opticals
Thomas Lechner	....	provider: walkie talkies
Renate Leisering	....	laboratory coordinator
Gisela Liesenfeld	....	production secretary
René Löw	....	location manager
Hans-Joachim Rabs	....	laboratory manager
Ralph Remstedt	....	assistant location manager
René	....	traffic blocker
Robert	....	traffic blocker
Kathrin Rohm	....	assistant location manager
Sarni	....	traffic blocker
Klaus-Peter Schultze	....	opticals
Uta Seibicke	....	apprentice director
Jörg Treutmann	....	location manager
Usch	....	traffic blocker
Katja Wessels	....	apprentice location manager
Thomas Wilk	....	titles
Willy	....	traffic blocker
Sabine Zimmer	....	continuity
Sabine Zimmer	....	script girl

Thanks
Wolfgang Becker	....	special thanks
Liane Jessen	....	special thanks
Undine Zamani	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• X-Filme Creative Pool
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
• Arte

Distributors

• Bavaria Film International (1998) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Celsius (2001) (India) (all media)
• Prokino Filmverleih (1998) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Laser Paradise (2003-2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (1999) (Germany) (DVD)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (1998) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Evolution Entertainment (2003-2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• ARP Sélection (France)
• AXN (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Angel Films (Scandinavia)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Atlantic Film (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Budapest Film (Hungary)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (1999) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (Argentina)
• Filmes Castello Lopes (Portugal)
• LK-TEL (Argentina) (VHS)
• Odeon (Greece)
• Pony Canyon (2000) (Japan) (DVD)
• Pony Canyon (2000) (Japan) (VHS)
• Pony Canyon (2003) (Japan) (DVD)
• Pony Canyon (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Prem'er Video Fil'm (Russia) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Classics (1999) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)

Special Effects

• Berliner Spezialeffekte Atelier
• Das Werk (digital special effects)

Other Companies

• Assekuranzmakler F. Gossler GmbH  insurance
• Buff Connection  stunts
• Bundesministerium des Inneren (BMI)  funding
• Cine Rent  camera equipment provided by
• Cine Rent  lighting equipment provided by
• Cine Rent  set equipment provided by
• Cinova Casting  extras casting
• Dinner for Tours  catering
• Epic Records  soundtrack
• FilmFernsehFonds Bayern  funding
• Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg (FBB)  funding
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)  funding
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen  funding
• Flash Forward  photo series
• Kodak GmbH  film stock provided by
• Kortwich  sound equipment provided by
• Powerblue Studios  music recording studio
• Roger & Over  walkie talkies provided by
• Ruhr Sound Studios  re-recording
• Studio Film Bilder  animation
• Timeline  editing facilities

Also Known As:

Run, Lola, Run (Australia) (USA)
Lola Runs (USA) (literal English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

81 min | USA:80 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18PL | Germany:16 (DVD) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Behrenstraße, St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Company:

X-Filme Creative Pool

Trivia:

Hans Paetsch, who speaks the narration at the beginning, is Germany's most popular fairy tale narrator. His characteristic voice is easily recognized by anyone who grew up with fairy tale records in Germany.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In each of the three stories, Lola runs alongside an ambulance. The patient in the ambulance is the bank guard that was having chest pains (visible in the second story) and not someone that was only injured in one of the stories.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[subtitled version]
Narrator: Mankind, probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of open questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we believe to know? Why do we believe anything at all? Innumerable questions looking for an answer, an answer which will raise the next question and the following answer will raise a following question and so on and so forth. But in the end, isn't it always the same question and always the same answer?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Minutes (2008)

Soundtrack:

Running Three

Technically Stunning

Tom Tykwer has truly proven himself as the filmmaker to watch. The little known German director has produced a modern-day masterpiece; a dazzling technical film about how life consists of the decisions we make.

Lola (Franka Potente) receives a phone call from her boyfriend, Manni. (Moritz Bleibtreii) Manni accidentally leaves a bag carrying $100 000 on a train, which is picked up by a homeless man. This leaves Manni in quite a predicament. He is supposed to deliver the money to a gangster by noon, if he fails, then he is likely to be killed. Lola has twenty- minutes to save his boyfriend. Twenty short minutes to somehow find the money and get it to him.

Run Lola Run is a film you expect to see at a Independent film festival, or in a Professor's office at a film school. In no way do I mean that in a negative way, I mean not to intend that the film is of a lower standard with lower production values, rather that the film is a beautifully mastered technical film that uses every filmmaking technique in the book. It is refreshing to see a film like this in the midst of the commercialised, dry-cut, 'traditional' filmmaking that we see on the silver screen so regularly.

As stated before, the film attempts to use a wide range of filmmaking techniques to help get the director's meaning and vision across to the audience. Some of these include speed-up, instant replay, black and white, and even animation in some parts.

It may sound strange, but the film is twenty-minutes long. Well, not really, but it is in context. Tykwer focuses on the twenty-minutes that Lola has, and shows that twenty-minutes three times over, each time with small differences will affect the outcome of the characters. The danger with this kind of technique is that it can threaten to be repetitive. However, the new additions added by Tykwer are very clever and link in perfectly, which will have you gasping for more.

Tykwer wrote and directed this film, and while doing this, he never lost sight of his meaning. His meaning that he is trying to express is that life consists of the decisions we make. While watching the film, this becomes increasingly evident. He also likes to emphasise that time is against Lola during the film. This can be seen when a young woman walks past and Lola asks her for the time, the next shot shows a much older woman answering her question, hence showing the importance of time.

Franka Potente gave a good performance as Lola. Yet, it is hard to say that she was fantastic, because it is a role that requires a great deal of physical acting and we didn't get to know a lot about Lola, hence the film wasn't overly-focusing on her issues, rather her boyfriend's problem. The real standout performance from my point of view came from Moritz Bleibtreii. He actually took on a quite challenging role and pulls it off successfully. He achieves his objective of getting the audience to feel sympathy for the position that he is in.

Run Lola Run is without a doubt, one of the best technical films ever made. A profound, exciting, new age masterpiece that has well and truly left its mark on the film industry.

Five out of Five.