Film Analysis Essay on Run Lola Run: 20 Minutes to Find 100,000 Marks or Die Trying

Introduction

Run Lola Run is a Germany film cast in 1998, directed by Tom Tykwer (Bergen-Aurand, 42). The movie of Lola Rennt presents an experimental crime drama incorporated with action settings. The film begins when Lola's boyfriend Manni loses a bag filled with 100,000 Marks send to be delivered to a crime gang boarding Berlin Subway train (Bergen-Aurand, 42). Lola is left with 20 minutes to find 100,000 Marks or the boyfriend be killed for the blunder made (Bergen-Aurand, 42). The film is created with distinct features, including Mise-en-scene, narration, cinematography, editing, and sound, to make a complete and perfect view. The film is created on three different scenarios with similar plot settings displaying the power of consequential rewards at any time over an action taken. Presented in the course textbook, Run Lola Run experiences: introductory and continuity editing the "system that assimilates cuts and transitions to create verisimilitude" commonly known as the truthful scene for the viewers. The paper illustrates the personal perception of the film's mise-en-scene, narrative, and narration, the role of cinematography, sound, and editing in creating meaning.

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The film of Run Lola Run is cast with an exciting mise-en-scene as one of the notable stylistic devices in filming. Every observable feature in the movie appears well placed in framing, including lighting, actors, props, decor, and costumes. The director Tom Tykwer brilliantly managed to put on screens the medium shots, lighting techniques, and design, all appearing excellent and realistic. The film uses brilliant shots developed from calculated moves and shooting; lighting is well placed with bright and dull colors incorporated to emaciate different emotions to the audience. The use of red and bright colors was successful in creating the meaning of the film genre falling under the gangster thriller. Red is believed to symbolize love in the case of Lola and Manni; the love birds are enfolded in the love triangle running across different points to raise 100,000 Marks in 20 minutes to regain her boyfriend's freedom (Bergen-Aurand, 42). Also, the red colors in the film with Lola and Manni paused beside the clock illustrates the awaiting murder as time trickles down.

The director of the film Tykwer together with his team, managed to present a unique outlook of the movie, creating the feeling intended. The viewers' emotion is evoked from the beginning of the film until the end when Lola manages to reunite again with Manni in the second and third version of the film's shots. Moreover, the director redirects the film's presentation to animation, where characters are entirely animated, illustrating to the viewers that the film is based on fictitious imagination and not a true story. However, the film appears more realistic since Lola can turn into cartoons and look more fitting in the fictional world. Director Tykwer competently linked the plains of fiction and realism to each other; at some point in the film, Lola is tripped by the boy falling down the stairs. In the next shot, Lola appears limping as a result of caused harm, and she is slower as well. The mise-en-scene presents a realistic viewer as Lola could be seen in the third live-action regaining strength and moving to her speed.

The film's information is presented via distinct narratives shot, giving a comprehensive narration of the scene. The film arrangement and appearance have significant roles in creating the meaning in the shots cast. The Run Lola Run film uses set design comprised of the furniture, set itself, and props; the director know-how on where to place specific objects bears significance in creating the film's meaning of crime and rescue as well as provoking thoughts. It is perhaps among the best movie inspired by video games to establish hyper-filmic that dates back to Kurosawa's Rashomon in 1950 (Bergen-Aurand, 42). The film presents multiple ending that with collective acceptance in spite of outlaying incongruities. The director Tykwer in the film of Run Lola Run integrates various visual texts as themes established of distinct techniques creating a deep meaning with a tremendous impact on how viewers perceive the movie. Symbolism is used to imply feelings, thoughts, and ideas in the characters that Tykwer does not want to communicate through action or speech. Moreover, the scene is set to help the viewer understand the essence of movement and conflict.

Mise-en-scene is collectively used by the director to present the film's narrative. At the beginning of the episode, the Title unfolds with diegetic sounds accompanied by fast-paced camera captions. Swiftly people can be viewed packing as the movements accelerate with muted colors. Each person on stage seems anonymous. The director manages to create the meaning of disunity among the characters through visual texts where Manni is caught up with antagonists as Lola struggles against barriers to attain the boyfriend's freedom. Other than the film being quite experimental in many ways, it is also traditional. Lola is awarded three chances to utilize in 20 minutes presented in three shots; the last appears to be the right one. Lola, the main character in the film, looks at the audience and acknowledges that it has all been fiction based on the game elaborating how director Tykwer managed to incorporate the spirit of filming used by classical cinema.

Mise-en-scene is realistic in the film of Run Lola Run; the provided objects and characters are based on fiction and imagery looking truth following the underlying world. Cinematography has played significant roles in creating the meaning of the film as well as fully supporting the narrative and narration of the Run Lola Run movie. The cinema adapts butterfly effect ideologies where every action creates a vista to possibly new arrays developing a dynamic visual in the film. Through cinematography, the director is able to translate his vision through various aspects by incorporating different colors, lighting, camera, framing, and movements (Mademlis, 20). Tykwer's use of incredible lighting style and colors gives a prodigious nature reflecting on the interiority of the three main characters Franka Potente (Lola), Moritz Bleibtra (Manni), and Herbert Knaup (Vater). Red colors, which are a recurrent motif in the film, illustrate Lola's warm personality while demonstrating the direness of the character's situation. At some point in the movie, the director uses blue lights and clothing to set a moody despondency when Lola is quite frustrated with what actions to take next.

Tykwer's choice of color in Run Lola Run is eclectic. The frames are built on central action elevated by accentuating and the characters. Lola is displayed in the film with warm color attire, and red hairs against a predominant background covered with grey shades make her prominent in the frames. Her shape is framed within a frame. The director of the film uses Dutch Angle to elaborate on any abnormality situation. Also, the camera shots are slowly moved to track romantic instances, such as during kissing. The use of aerial shots is predominantly used in Run Lola Run to give a more comprehensive view of the audience. Chase sequence is introduced in the film by the cinematography dynamism to help maintain the pace throughout the shooting. The cinematography in the film of Run Lola Run gives a deeper meaning of the movie through a more comprehensive view and range of colors selectively chosen in particular scenes.

Various editing styles have been used in creating Run Lola Run, including cut, continuity, cross-cutting, and eyeliner match (Bergen-Aurand, 42). The director Tykwer uses a non-linear parallel editing technique to present the movie. An example in Run Lola Run is when Lola's story and that of her boyfriend Manni are shown side by side. The editing approach helps in keeping continuity from the viewers' end, not losing concentration of either character. Also, the film is edited in black and white while presenting flashbacks; it illustrates the fading memory helping create meaning in the movie. Tykwer uses jump cuts in demonstrating montage of what might happen when somebody got the money. The editing technique of jump-cut purposely used to showcase on what could happen if Lola failed to get the cash in time; the approach builds on the suspense of an expected outcome.

A Pleonastic sound is dominantly used in Run Lola Run; for instance, when the ticking clock gets louder. The music is useful in the film to demarcate on elapsed time, as the noise heightens Lola runs restlessly. Ambient is the other sound device adopted in the film of Run Lola Run by director Tykwer to complete filming through muffled whispers. Whispers in the film are presented with elements of horror, demonstrating fear encompassing the characters. Chaos is illustrated by breaking glass producing diegetic sound building on other sounds heard from the background.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Run Lola Run is a crime drama thriller composed of distinct elements and approaches to film-making. The director of the film Tykwer carefully succeeded in creating a movie that attains the viewer's attention and concentration by incorporating visual texts. The use of mise-en-scene, narratives, and narration, cinematography, sound, and editing has enabled produce detailed information about the film of Run Lola Run with a fundamental understanding of the scenes cast. The use of the positioned stage with moving objects gives a quick shot presenting realism in the film. Also, the introduction of animated characters in the third scene helps initiate the sense of imagery and video games used in completing the film, giving a real understanding of Run Lola Run movie.

Works Cited

Bergen-Aurand, Brian. "Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt)." The Radical Teacher, no. 74, 2005, p. 42.

Mademlis, Ioannis. "Autonomous UAV Cinematography: A Tutorial and a Formalized Shot-Type Taxonomy." ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 52, no. 5, Sept. 2019, pp. 1-33; doi:10.1145/3347713.