Run Lola Run

Having been shown the opening segment of Run Lola Run in a class during year 1, I was marginally intrigued by the potential course the film could take. So I was quite pleased to see it being screened during a Thursday morning lecture this term.
Personally, I found that the tension and suspense was lifted after the first “run”. We see that the failure results in nothing more than another attempt by Lola to save her wimpy boyfriend Manni. It transpires that for some bizarre reason, Lola can press a mental “reset” button, and she goes back to her last checkpoint. This is all very reminiscent of a video game, and Roger Ebert actually got in there before me in noting the Lara Croft nature of the heroine. Unlike video games however, you have no control over the film. In video games, you could be stuck on the same level for infinite if you haven’t got the know-how or skill to advance through the game. In Run Lola Run however, the film progresses freely and you know that Lola will eventually solve the problem.
Another aspect of the film that is redolent of video games (albeit a small group of them), is the theme of small decisions and interactions shaping future events. I liken it to Heavy Rain, an interactive multi-format game in which many decisions effect the outcome of the storyline (such as the gruelling question of whether to cut off the main character’s fingers). This is depicted in Run Lola Run through the varying fate of a woman Lola continuously runs into, from remaining poor and kidnapping a child in one episode to winning the lottery in another.
The film explores many themes, and asks many questions, but it didn’t really pique my interest enough to answer them.