Is this a female empowering film?

Absolutely and I'm glad you brought this up! I was indeed thinking the same. A strong female saving her male partner, independent and feisty, trusting in her own decisions.

Yup, that's what feminism gets you: running around to deliver a bunch of money to a girlish criminal.

I thought it was a very female empowering film! I love how Lola takes matters into her own hands and saves the guy unlike most female heroines in mainstream movies. I also liked that Lola wasn't sexualized or objectified at all. She was just a strong woman.

I don't think it is. I suppose it could be in the sense that the movie doesn't discriminate against Lola with her being a woman. The movie treats her like a normal protagonist in an extraordinary situation. In my opinion, the movie goes beyond sex in this regard. However, I think the movie sees itself as a philosophical movie, which is most likely tipped off with the prologue.

Regardless, Lola Rennt will always be one of my favorite movies, and I love Lola. I think the thing I love the most about Lola is the fact that she isn't your stereotypical, supermodel heroine. Instead, she's a normal human being who people still root for in an unbiased fashion. Even though Franka Potente's career didn't blow up the way I thought it would in the late 90's, I'll always like her for her role in this film!

Yeah, sure. I guess having some moronic woman run around the town for 75 minutes to the beat of some particularly bad synth music must indeed be very empowering. Why not.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

I'd have to say 'not in the least.' In the first two timelines, Lola sacrifices her life and her eventual freedom (seeing as everyone in the bank knew who she was when she robbed them) respectively for the sake of saving her boyfriend. She becomes a criminal in both cases, ruining her future just to save her boyfriend from his own stupidity. I can't see how this is an empowering storyline, especially since everything she did ultimately made her a victim. She didn't take control of the situation so much as act out of desperation and self-destructive love. The very act of begging her father for money only reinforces her lack of power and ability to suffice on her own merits.

The only storyline where she wasn't a victim, the third one, she was lucky. She didn't somehow overcome the odds through her own determination and ability. She laid down a bet that was unlikely to pay off...and then did it a second time. And she required begging and the kindness of strangers (the cashier who rounded off her chip, and the manager who allowed her to let a bet over the table limit ride) to even do that. I honestly can't see a feminist element here when the protagonist destroys her own life to help save her man from his own poor decision-making. It's like a metaphorical equivalent of suttee here.

Mind you, it was an interesting movie. I'm not attacking the movie on its merits. But it certainly wasn't a feminist one.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I've heard people say no because it doesn't pass the "Bechdel Test". But I don't really believe too strongly in that and don't think it's an efficient tool for measuring the amount of feminism in film.

Anyway, I think that the beauty of the film is that it doesn't really matter. It reminded me of "Night of the Living Dead", in the sense that we forget what the main character is. We forget Ben is black and it really isn't important to the story. The same goes for "Run Lola Run". It doesn't matter that she's a female. She's just a person who wanted to help someone she cared about.

It doesn't matter if it was to help her boyfriend. If he was doing it for her it wouldn't make him weak, in fact, we'd probably call the girl who lost it in the first place dumb and incompetent.

So, I suppose my answer is, yes. This is quite empowering.

No not really, she risks her life and breaks the law (in some versions) for her boyfriend

I'm gonna refuse you an offer you can't make