Run Lola Run

Looks like an action movie, doesn't it?

The next movie on the list is Run Lola Run or Lola rennt in it's original language (German). It's a 1998 movie about a girl named Lola who's boyfriend has somehow managed to lose 100,000 German marks (roughly 51,000 Euro) that he's supposed to give to his crime boss.  She has twenty minutes to find the money and get to her boyfriend before the boss gets... violent. Lola decides to visit her father at the bank and hit him up for the money before going to her boyfriend who is on the verge of robbing a supermarket. The movie takes a turn for the weird when, at the end of her run, she does it again... and again, getting it completely right the third time, obviously.

The most entertaining part of the movie is that you get the see the future of certain side characters due to Lola's actions and they change every time.  It made me giggle.

Of course, the funniest part about seeing this film is that I've never watched a German film before that I can remember so... I got to see what German cinema might be like. I think I prefer French, honestly, but I have a special place in my heart for French films. I also like Japanese movies (horror and anime), but who doesn't like those?

So... is this movie a Magical Realism movie?

Well, does it have inexplicable events? Yes. Time is rewinding and Lola does seem to learn and retain certain things each time. In addition, certain other odd things happen throughout the film (beware when Lola screams).

Is there an explanation for the inexplicable things? Nope. There is no explanation for any of the weird shit that happens in this movie.  It's completely insane. It does make me want to run though... for twenty minutes.

Could there be an rational explanation? Well, yeah, it could all be in Lola's head. She's very stressed and she believes her boyfriend is going to die. Also, the events at the end of her first run could easily explain why there's a second and third run if you think about it enough.  The movie lets you decide what's really going on; it just tells the story.

Is the movie character-centered? Yes and no. On one hand, the movie is all about Lola, Manni and their situation. Her father ties into it in some ways. Actually, it's funny, Lola and Manni's actions affect tertiary characters. Due to the way tertiary characters respond to Lola and Manni's actions, the events unfold in certain ways. In the first run, Lola is on normal speed, and she interrupts something between her father and his mistress before things get... emotional. So, things go one way. In the second run, she hurts her ankle due to her reactions to one of her first obstacles. That slows her down so she arrives as things get... heated between her father and her mistress. So, events play out differently. In the third run, she speeds up and doesn't cause and accident for the guy who is supposed to be picking up her father for lunch. So, when she arrives at her father's work, he's gone. 

The movie really seems to emphasize that it's little things that affect the actions of others. You may be having a great day, but someone in a bad mood running into you, leaping over your car, or bumping into your bike can really change things and turn things around and lead you to something unexpected. Or, in the case of one poor ambulance driver, the actions of one person can determine if you stop in time to miss the giant pane of glass, drive through the pane of glass, or barely stop in time for that pane of glass. 

It's kind of awesome in that respect.

It also shows that it doesn't really pay to date a guy who works for a crime boss. 

And chances are, you're father's a dick.

Is there a cultural component to this Magical Realism film? Well, sort of. How many people can look back on an absolutely wretched day and wish they could just have been able to scream "ENOUGH!"

... And suddenly you get to live the day over again and fix it?

In modern society when you hardly ever get time for anything and the shit sometimes just piles on heavier and heavier, a redo every once in a while would really help.

So I think this is really the Modern Culture Magical Realism movie. It takes something every fast-moving person of the 20th Century wants and shows you what might happen if you got it. It also shows you that if you were a little nicer to people, maybe life wouldn't always seem so dire. Take a bit more time. Don't let people steal your moped. You know?

I think this movie qualifies and even if it didn't, I think I may watch it again in the future. I really enjoyed it and it was a different take on the idea of Magical Realism in a sense. Most people tend to depend on old culture (from what I've read), this depends more on modern culture.

Just not too modern because the boyfriend is still using a pay phone. I haven't seen those since... 2005?