About the Movie:
Run, Lola, Run is a 1998 German film written and directed by Tom Tykwer that follows a young woman by the name of “Lola” played by Franka Potente as she struggles to deliver a hundred thousand marks in 20 minutes to her boyfriend who's name is “Manni” played by Moritz Bleibtreu, who decides to rob a grocery store for his lost funds. Three possible scenarios are depending on Lola’s encounters. The repetition of the run as seen in the same scene three times is an example of how Lola's journey is similar to a video game. It aims to highlight the fact that her life can just be restarted and reminded just like video games. It shows that even in real life we cannot travel back in time, the repetition of the run sequence shows mistakes are fixed by going back to the very root of the problem and figuring out what solution would suit well.
This film connotes the power of making decisions and how they impact our lives and it reminds us deeply that if we know how to use our potentials and if we come to our senses, we are capable to make lasting positive solutions to the obstacles we are facing. This is also inspiring for it teaches people to live their life in a meaningful way and to make decisions consciously and in a way that they experience their dream results and not their mistakes. Run Lola Run captivates the mind and spirit with beautiful flashes of love, passion, making choices, desperation, anticipation, panic, hesitation and fear that when all combined is quite reinforcing.
Analysis
Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing. In this film, formalism is present where the three alternate narratives with the same duration are repeated thrice and each one has different outcomes which result to affect the plot in a multitude ways. In each scenario, there are a new set of characters which are also affected and they have contributed to the events and are seen through snapshots. The lighting that is natural from indoor and outdoor scenes, specifically when Lola was running and Manni was waiting for her. There’s also this scene where the usage of red lighting is present which signifies Lola’s personality and situation and it also shows their love and passion for each other as seen in the first two narratives. Another is the animation being used in the film as shown where she was running down the stairs and it is only the scene represented in an animated form in the film. Run, Lola, Run also used different sound techniques to hide the tension and keep the film fastening. The same non-diegetic sound is also featured throughout the film specifically upbeat, keeping the continuity with the non-linear structure and plot. This keeps the viewer’s hearts pumping wondering what’s going to happen next or what scene will follow. It keeps the rhythm with what is happening in the clip and stops at just the right moments. The sound effect of the people screaming and the gun firing off allows the viewers to grasp and understand how dangerous the situation that Manny is creating at the grocery store as seen in the first clip. The silence or with no music in the scene where Lola and Manni are honest with each other allows the viewers to capture their conversation. The sound of the clock as it reoccurs in the three narratives and the scream of Lola as seen in the third clip reinforces the idea of Lola being under pressure and therefore builds suspense and tension as what may have been done. Throughout the film, the constant use of colour which is red, includes Lola’s red hair, the tint over the screen while Lola and Manni are lying on the bed and the telephone repetitively was seen. Technically, red represents love, lust and danger in this film.
Another element is the shot composition where a lot of angles are used like an aerial shot where Lola is running to her desired destination. A long shot is also seen where she is running to the bank and gives the viewers the idea of where she is going the first time around. Another is when Manni is in the phone booth which shows his anger and fear of what he expects to come at any point in time.
Close-ups, extreme close-ups are also seen in some of the scenes in the film. Extreme close up which aims to show the extreme detail of the subject such as Lola’s face while she’s talking to Manni on the phone. The shot shows her eyes, emotion and her worry at that moment. For the editing, there are different cuts used in the film such as quick cut, jump cut and split screens. In the scene where Manni loses the money bag while he was on the train and there are also multiple shots cutting towards it because he’s lost it and he seems to be distraught is considered as an example of a quick cut. It means multiple shots that are cut up together to show some type of chaos or some type of energy being shown. Another cut is the jump cut as shown in the scene where Lola was shot, lying on the ground where she’s about to die and the phone descending almost showing a timer. She then makes a decision right before that she wants to live and says “stop,” this is an example of a jump cut because of the different cuts in between the three shots on that particular scene. The meaning of the film was conveyed at some particular scenes or sequences through the contribution of its lighting, sound, editing and cinematography.
