The late Pauline Kael named her 1968 collection of film reviews Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in celebration of movies at their most visceral – the ones in which sex and violence and speed combine in ways that produce sheer sensation. Thirty years later, Run Lola Run, screening at midnight on May 15 and 16, put these elements through their paces in a relentless display that's simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting – but in a good way.
Written and directed by Tom Tykwer, whose subsequent productions, like this year's The International, haven't been able to top this one, the film tracks Lola (a positively electric Franka Potente) as she desperately tries to deliver money lost on a train by her panicky boyfriend (Moritz Bleibtreu) in time to prevent him from being snuffed. This scenario loops back upon itself time and again, with assorted variations, but who cares about the specifics? The only thing that matters is the sight of Lola, driven by Tykwer's restless camera, jittery editing and an unyielding electro score, as she zooms across the screen like a law of motion unto herself. This is why they call them moving pictures.
Catch Lola at the Esquire, 590 Downing Street; tickets are $7.25. Learn more at 303-352-1992 or www.landmark-theatres.com. – Michael Roberts
