MovieChat Forums > Lola rennt (1999) Discussion > Didn't like it. Why is it rated so highl...

Didn't like it. Why is it rated so highly?

posted 14 years ago by rexcraft7
41 replies | jump to latest

Just finished watching it. I thought the concept was the most interesting part of the whole movie; anyways, it was cool how you could actually pick out little details and events that get repeated in a slightly different way (kept me in deep focus the whole time!), and with the "reruns" you could actually start piecing together the characters relationships, background, what they were doing and why, all because of these little changes that you start noticing.

The filming wasn't that amazing to me, but its "style" was interesting. With all the cuts, rapid scene changes,
loose filming style (like how they cut to a seemingly random cartoon segment), and sometimes scenes where you would be seeing multiple viewpoints at once, all definitely came together to give a frantic feel to the movie (even lolas hair: I thought the flaming red made things feel more "urgent"). Theme-wise, I get that it's trying to probably say that small actions can have big effects or whatever and that lives can be determined within a split second

There were some openended stuff. I also felt that the segments might have been continuous. Lolas death scene for example, felt like what she was whispering was sort of surreal as if she knew she could "try again". Small stuff like her mentioning "please, just THIS time, just THIS once" when she was running to the casino, all made it feel like she "knew" she was repeating things, and that these 20-minute runs wern't just "what-if" scenarios. Basically, I like how it left a lot of things open and gave little hints to stuff so that I could make different conclusions like this.

Buut... I don't know, thats what I got from the movie, and at the end of it I felt pretty let down. I didn't really feel like I gained any interesting viewpoint or idea, and no single aspect of the movie felt like it pushed any boundaries of movie making or anything. So with all that said, why is it rated so high?

[–] blescha 14 years ago

because we got to see lots of that HUGE german ass?

[–] jtsaward 12 years ago

Hahahaha ... yeah that could be it :)

[–] KP-Nuts 14 years ago

I saw this for the first time last night and absolutely loved it. It was gripping, visually impressive and quite unlike any other movie I have seen.

I am unsure if it would stand up to repeat viewings though but daresay will watch it again soon to see what a second taste is like.

Better to regret something you did, than something you didn't do!

[–] Alihou 14 years ago

I just HATED that hand held camera!!! in the scenes with the dad and the mistress... Why do they use them in movies?

[–] nocakeforyou 12 years ago

The quality of the camera is a stylistic choice by the director. Almost as if things aren't really "real" unless Lola is there.

[–] Naughty-God 14 years ago

It's pretty standard storytelling. The creation of the three outcomes isn't suppose to be explained literally or scientifically because it can't. Most people I know don't like that aspect of stories like this, but for me it's about staying interested in the characters and their predicament which in this case the movie worked for me.

As far as being highly rated, I don't think it's actually given much attention and it was considered a meager "art house cinema" hit, but nothing more. In my opinion, movies like The Matrix and Inception are overly highly rated for the ideas that they espouse, mainly because they're not really that original and borrow heavily from other stories and genres.

(¯`i´¯)´·¸.)‹^›

[–] gulati-pranshu 9 years ago

I know you wrote this a long time ago. But if you see this, could you justify your stance as to why you think Inception and The Matrix are not original. And which movie(s) do you think they have borrowed some of their stuff from.

Because in my opinion you actually mentioned movies with probably the most original ideas. And in my opinion the main reason these movies are considered popular is because of their originality and style.

[–] dangersplosion 9 years ago

I know I'm not the guy who originally commented about those movies, but I can help here.
The Matrix was heavily influenced by anime, comic books, and the action movies coming out of Hong Kong in the preceding few years. The Wachowskis didn't invent bullet time, the slick plastic/leather fashion, or that stylized cinematography. They just brought it to a western audience.
Meanwhile Inception is very similar in concept to the movie Paprika, which came out like 4 years earlier. In Paprika, scientists have made a machine that allows people to enter other peoples' dreams, and somebody starts using it to hurt people. Whereas Paprika is more of a mystery movie, Inception is a heist movie take on the same concept. Another case of reworking an eastern idea for a western audience.

[–] nadaht 8 years ago

Paprika

I found that to be way more interesting than Inception. And how about that song during the opening credits, Meditational Field, how awesome is it?

Would You like to know more?

[–] dangersplosion 8 years ago

I definitely agree. For me, the "feel" of a movie is very important. So whereas Inception had a good plot, to me Paprika captured the feeling of dreaming much more accurately and that's what gave it the edge in my book.
And it has the great soundtrack to boot!

[–] puschit-1 14 years ago

OP:
Maybe read your own post again. Notice how many positive things you said about the movie. Isn't that enough for a high rating? You don't know what you got from the movie!? Dude, you got everything that you just wrote you liked about it! As long as you enjoyed watching it, it should be worth it, even if you didn't "get a new viewpoint or idea and no single aspect of the movie felt like it pushed any boundaries of movie making or anything". Sometimes the way to the goal IS the goal, you know.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] puschit-1 14 years ago

I wouldn't say she "remembers", though. That's more like intuition or knowledge from your previous lifes or something ...

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] deadbunny28 13 years ago

subconscious thinking was my thought

[–] sweiland75 14 years ago

because we do not need you to decide for us what we think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5GZIDnMzZQ Why does Canada need a queen?

[–] andu-00 14 years ago

It's rated high because many like it. Dunno why would that be so hard to assume.

[–] Chairman-Meow 13 years ago

The OP should be waterboarded for disliking this film. How DARE you sir?

"I live with that dude. He's got night terrors and a rotary phone."

[–] zachanscom 13 years ago

because pseudo intellectual/philosophic elements are impressive to the average person.

it's not a bad film though, but definitely overrated.

[–] srinath_r_htanirs 13 years ago

I had the same feeling when I watched. It didn't look natural. It looked as if it was trying something and ended up flat. Very obvious with the philosophical content, the way it was said was good though. Pseudo-intellectual it was. Anyways, for the good elements like insertion of cartoons, minute details changing in each iteration etc., I would give it 7 or 8(pushing maybe).