Words cannot express the joy you will experience while watching this lightning fast film. Clocking in at a mere 80 minutes, Run Lola Run zips through so quickly that you wish it were longer so you could enjoy it more. Lola was the highest grossing film in Germany last year, with good reason. It is inventive, funny, and has a damn catchy soundtrack.

Lola (Franka Portente) has flame red hair and a couple of tattoos. And a very dependent boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreau). Manni has lost 100,000 marks, and is meeting the man who was supposed to get the money in 20 minutes. He is at a phonebooth panicking. It's up to Lola to come up with the money and get to him (on the other side of Berlin) before he goes across the street and robs the supermarket. But wait, 20 minutes you say? But isn't the movie 80 minutes long?

This is where it gets fun. This movie originated with a image of a woman running in director Tom Tykwer's head. The story came later. It's no secret that Lola gets three chances to help Manni. Much like Sliding Doors (even though Run Lola Run came out first), each time is off from the other by a matter of seconds. And what a differences a couple seconds make. You get to watch how it affects Lola, Manni, as well as people that Lola bumps into along the streets of Berlin. The camera pans beautfully, in sweeping fluid motions, capturing Lola from afar and up close.

There isn't much dialogue, but not much is needed. Tykwer has infused the soundtrack with nonstop catchy techno music. From the unique opening sequence to the reverse credits at the end, there is rarely a moment when there is no background music. The charged soundtrack serves only to heighten the urgency and seems to make the movie fly faster. Tykwer and Portente lend their voices to the soundtrack, which won awards at the MTV Awards in Germany. In essence, this movie is an 81 minute music video.

In a summer where movies that choose to bend reality seem the norm, this is definitely at the top of the list. Run Lola Run is not playing widely, but you will be pleasantly surprised if you seek it out.