ISLAMABAD: A special screening of Lola Rennt, (Run Lola Run), the critically acclaimed German film, was screened on Wednesday.

Chargé d’Affaires of the German embassy Arno Kirchhof welcomed the guests and gave them some context about this landmark film of German cinema. Both a product of experimental cinema and a testimony to what life felt like in the Berlin of the late 1990s, the film pairs the aesthetics of the 1990s with an energetic, unpredictable and ceaselessly inventive chain of events.

Aptly named for its relentless momentum, the screening was open to the general public and was attended by representatives of the cultural world and civil society, businessmen, journalists and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

The 1998 experimental thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer, follows a woman named Lola, played by Franka Potente, who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutsche Mark in 20 minutes to save the life of her boyfriend Manni, played by Moritz Bleibtreu. Narrating three alternative versions of the love story, Tykwer explores the role of chance in destiny as fleeting interactions have profound impact.

The film begins with a series of questions that set the stage for the audience to view the movie keeping in mind the philosophical debate between free will and determinism. What follows is an hour and 15 minutes of small, apparently inconsequential events, producing consequential outcomes, as brief interactions in each alternate reality significantly alter the results.

Starting in a house in Albrechtstraße, Berlin-Mitte, Manni, a bagman responsible for delivering 100,000 Deutsche Mark, frantically calls his girlfriend Lola to tell her he has misplaced the bag in the U-Bahn. Setting the plot in motion he tells her that Manni’s boss, Ronnie, will kill him in 20 minutes unless he has the money.

In the first reality, Manni is planning to rob a nearby supermarket to replace the funds and despite having the intention to get the funds from her father, Lola helps him steal 100,000 marks but on leaving, they find the place surrounded by police. Surrendering, Manni throws the money bag into the air, which startles a police officer who accidentally shoots Lola dead.

Events restart from the moment Lola leaves the house when in the second reality, a man with a dog trip her, and she arrives later to her father’s bank and ends up robbing it. An equally unfortunate turn of events, leads to a speeding ambulance fatally running Manni over.

In the third reality, Lola presciently leaps over the man and his dog, arriving at her father’s bank so early that she misses her father and their argument as he has left the bank. She wanders into a casino, where she bets everything on roulette, winning 129,600 marks and runs to meet Manni. Manni spots the homeless man from the underground train passing by on a bicycle with the money bag. Manni, meanwhile, has located and stolen back the original bag and is handing it over to Ronnie when Lola arrives.

Vibrant and stark colours, and the speed of the action, kept the audience enthralled. Following its release in 1998, the film received critical acclaim and several accolades, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Film at the Seattle International Film Festival, and seven awards at the German Film Awards.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2025