Year: 1999
Runtime: 80 min
Language: German
Director: Tom Tykwer
A small-time criminal loses a large sum of money, putting his life in danger. His girlfriend, Lola, then embarks on a desperate and frantic race against time to find the money and prevent him from making a drastic decision. Through three iterations of the same 20 minutes, she faces various challenges and unexpected encounters in a vibrant and chaotic Berlin underworld, all while trying to outrun the clock and her father’s disapproval.
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Manni, a bagman tasked with delivering 100,000 Deutsche Marks, is in a desperate situation as he calls his girlfriend, Lola. He explains that while he was on the U-Bahn, he panicked and fled after spotting ticket inspectors, only to realize he left behind the money bag. To make matters worse, he notices a homeless man inspecting the bag just as the train departs. With only 20 minutes to spare before his boss, Ronnie, decides to kill him for the lost cash, Manni contemplates robbing a nearby supermarket to recover the funds. Determined to help, Lola urges Manni to wait and seeks assistance from her father, a bank manager.
As Lola rushes through her apartment building, she hastily runs past a man walking his dog. Meanwhile, at the bank, her father is confiding in his mistress, who reveals her pregnancy. When Lola bursts onto the scene, a heated argument ensues as her father announces he is leaving her mother, asserting that Lola is not his biological daughter. Heartbroken, she races to Manni but arrives just in time to see him entering the supermarket brandishing a gun. In a chaotic heist, Lola aids Manni in robbing 100,000 marks. However, their escape turns tragic when they find themselves cornered by police, and in a frantic moment, Manni tosses the money bag into the air, startling an officer who mistakenly shoots Lola dead.
In an intriguing twist, events rewind to when Lola first leaves her home. This time, a man with a dog intentionally trips her, causing her to limp as she rushes to the bank, arriving late. She overhears her father’s mistress remarking that he isn’t the father of her unborn child, which infuriates her. In a fit of rage, Lola grabs a security guard’s weapon, takes her father hostage, and robs the bank of 100,000 marks. The police, mistaking her for a bystander, allow her to escape just in time to meet Manni, preventing him from robbing the supermarket. Unfortunately, fate intervenes again as a speeding ambulance, that she had distracted moments earlier, fatally strikes him.
The cycle continues as Lola again leaps over the man with the dog, reaching the bank without any delays. However, she does not trigger the previous accidents. Instead, she finds herself wandering until she enters a casino, where she decides to gamble her money. She bets a 100-mark chip on the number 20, which miraculously wins, paying out 3,500 marks. Fueled by excitement, she reinvests her winnings and makes another bet on 20, which again turns lucky. With 129,600 marks in her possession, Lola rushes to meet Manni. In a final twist, Manni spots the same homeless man from earlier, who is now on a bicycle with the money bag. In a desperate bid, he steals back the bag at gunpoint, exchanging his weapon in the process. As Lola arrives, disheveled and breathless, she witnesses Manni handing the money to Ronnie, leading to a fraught exchange about her bag.
Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 03:15
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