81 minutes of pulse pounding action !!

Originally published in my intranet site.

Ever watched a movie, that makes you sit up? A movie, that the minute it ends, makes you want to go and DO something? A movie that has your adrenaline pumping like you have just had 10 cups of very dark coffee ?? There are a few movies that have made me feel that way - ‘Gilli’ in Tamil (originally made in Telugu as Okkadu), Chak De India come to mind.

‘Run Lola Run’ - a German movie by Tom Tykwer is all that I described above and more. It is 81 minutes of pure, unadulterated fun ! It has pulse pounding action, a great soundtrack and is visually stunning too. This is one of the movies that no movie-buff should ever miss.

The story is simple - Manni and Lola are lovers. Manni is a drug dealer and has just finished a deal worth 100,000 Deutsche Marks. On his way to meeting with the gangster boss, he loses the money to a vagrant. He now needs to come up with the money in 20 minutes and calls Lola asking for her help. And Lola agrees to try. Now begins Lola’s race against time ! Will she get the money and get to Manni in time? Will they live happily ever after?

Just when we think we have figured out the movie, we come in for a surprise. The whole incident repeats about 3 times, with the result changing every time.

Watch out for the sequence that shows how the futures of the people Lola meets on the way change every time. It is shown in short clips and the result is very funny. There is a wonderful undercurrent of humour throughout the movie.

As I mentioned before, visually the movie is stunning. Brilliant colours are used throughout the movie and animation is used intelligently to show scenes where Lola runs down the stairs to arrange for the money.

I have noticed and appreciated the soundtracks of very few movies, at the time of watching and this movie is one of the few. A fantastic soundtrack, that adds another dimension to the movie.

Any movie is best watched in the language in which it is made. Every language has a rhythm and music to it and dubbed versions are seldom able to recreate that magic. ‘Life is Beautiful’ seems much more lyrical and musical when watched in Italian. Similarly, this movie is best viewed in the German version with the subtitles.

An all-time favourite of mine !