Run Lola Run

"Every second of every day you're faced with a decision that can change your life."

1998 1h 20m DE

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 2,689🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●79Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 215,251

ActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.

“Every second of every day you're faced with a decision that can change your life.”

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Cast

Franka Potente
Lola
Moritz Bleibtreu
Manni
Herbert Knaup
Father
Nina Petri
Mrs. Hansen
Armin Rohde
Mr. Schuster
Joachim Król
Norbert von Au
Ludger Pistor
Mr. Meier
Suzanne von Borsody
Ms. Jäger

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tom Tykwer
Writers: Tom Tykwer
Languages: German, English, Japanese
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tom Tykwer, shot by Frank Griebe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Johnny Klimek. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mathilde Bonnefoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tom Tykwer directs. Frank Griebe behind the camera. Johnny Klimek scores. Mathilde Bonnefoy cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German, English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.
428 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Japanese.
6Directed by Tom Tykwer, shot by Frank Griebe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Johnny Klimek. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Mathilde Bonnefoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu and Herbert Knaup carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Every second of every day you're faced with a decision that can change your life.".
11IMDB entry: tt0130827 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Frank Griebe
Original score: Johnny Klimek
Editing: Mathilde Bonnefoy
Production design: Alexander Manasse
Costume design: Monika Jacobs
Makeup / hair: Babette Bröseke
Sound: Dirk Jacob
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,530,000
Box office: $7,660,911
Return: 501% of budget
Original language: DE
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Run Lola Run (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 79/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 215,251 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award28 wins & 21 nominations total

Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Bavarian Film Awards (Best Production)
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Tom Tykwer

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

ausher82018-10-27
★ 5/10
Stupid criminal is stupid and expects his girlfriend to bail him out and fix his problems. We watch 3 different scenarios of her running around trying to come up with money. More stupid stuff happens and she screams to try to make things go her way. Yes, literally screams. Ridiculous
CinemaSerf2024-11-21
★ 7/10
"Manni" (Moritz Bleibtreu) calls his girlfriend in distress to tell her that he's left DM100,000 on the subway and unless he can repatriate it by noon, he's going to have to rob somewhere else he is toast! What now ensues sees three scenarios play out as "Lola" (Franka Potente) tries to figure out a way to raise this fairly huge sum of cash in the twenty minutes allowed. Her dad is a bank manager - so perhaps he could help (willingly or otherwise)? Maybe she could chance a bet on a roulette wheel? Maybe she could not get there at all and let him do some robbing? What ever happens, she is going to have to do some running and timing is going to be crucial. It's filmed at break neck speed for the most part, with both characters simultaneously trying to find a solution to the predicament - and sometimes that produces some comedy, sometimes some tragedy, some furniture gets a bit trashed, some dirty laundry gets aired and the permutations all provide us with an answer - just maybe not the ideal one, or maybe yes - the ideal one. It's also quite a fun observation on just how frustrating tiny amounts of time can be when you are in a rush. This is well exemplified by the security guard at her dad's bank, but also by the traffic and the pedestrians and other obstructions that a few seconds of patience would easily (and probably just as quickly) overcome. It's quirky this film, it's short and focussed and I did enjoy it.
ezra2025-07-22
★ 10/10
definitely biased because i'm a huge fan of techno music lol. i was bopping all the way through, it was a lot of fun. became my new favorite film when i walked out of the theater. professor had us watch this film to showcase what can be done with editing in the art of film, i'm convinced that was mostly the rapid match cuts with the music, which was a really cool effect. every choice really made this a fun and exciting watch, the fun kind of tension all the way through. music probably carried that. i can see this being more of a "huh. cool." movie to most people, but if you're like me and can't help but jam out to a 128bpm techno beat this is a must watch