Blu-ray Review: Run Lola Run

THE MOVIE: 4 stars out of 5

I must say that this film has a very original premise, namely how different things can turn out in our lives but for very small changes in what choices we make and what happens to us that are completely out of our control. This film explores what those differences can be in three 20 minute vignettes that run back to back to back, all beginning at the same place and time.The story concerns a young couple in love who only have 20 minutes to change the course of their lives. In a nutshell, the boyfriend gets involved in criminal activity and makes a drug run for a drug dealer. However, his girlfriend Lola fails to show up on time to pick him up as her scooter is stolen and he decides to take the subway back to hand in the 100,000 marks he collects (Yes it is a German film). He becomes distracted on the subway and leaves the cash in a bag where it is picked up by a homeless person. Frantically, he calls Lola to inform her and to ask her help as he fears he will be killed if he doesn’t turn over the cash as the prearranged time and place. Lola runs to get the assistance of her father who is a banker. Along the way, she runs into small obstacles that effect how the story ends with three very different results.

The film is written and directed by Tom Tykwer and stars Franka Potente as Lola. Franka Potente is best known on these shores for her role in The Bourne Identity as Jason Bourne’s companion. This is a fast paced film that really flies by and is very thought provoking. It is well worth a viewing. Recommended.

THE VIDEO: 4 1/5 stars out of 5

While I really enjoyed the film, I am less enthusiastic about the video. For the most part, the video is good but I was really bothered by the rather unnatural looking colors. While most scenes were fairly clear and detailed, flesh tones had a rather unnatural looking orange tone to them. Shadows also had a bit of a green tint them. While I am sure that this was all intentional, it really detracts from the look of the film. I also thought that the transfer had a rather flattened image and lacked the three dimensionality of the best transfers. Black level was good with the exception of the green tint previously noted. There were other scenes where the image was really grainy and murky with overblown whites and contrast. While this again was deliberate, I found it to be really distracting or should I say annoying. Detail for the most part was good but the picture lacked that razor sharp clear image of the best looking discs even at its best.

THE AUDIO: 4 1/3 stars out of 5

This release contains two high rez tracks, both Dolby True HD, one in German and one in English. I must say that I preferred the German track better as it was the better of the two sonically and fit the look of the film better. I just don’t like dubbed films and would rather watch them with subtitles. Just my preference.

As for the audio quality, the sound was good but not great. Despite the fact that this is a rather frenetic movie visually, I didn’t feel that the audio communicated this as effectively as it could have. The soundtrack and the music lacked the edginess and pulsing sound that I would have expected. The sound was rather front heavy with sporadic use of the surrounds. Where used, they were used effectively, just not as often as I would have liked. Dialogue was well recorded and well presented and always easy to follow, both in German as well as English. The overall sound quality itself was good with a nice smooth sound with solid bass, especially the music, which is well presented, albeit in the front three channels only. I would have preferred a better sound design with a more immersive feel and edgier more dynamic sound. However, the sound on this release is well presented given its inherent limitations.

IN CONCLUSION

While the video and audio quality is not up there with the best this format has to offer, it is certainty acceptable. The film itself is very good and very original and well worth a look. Recommended.