“Run Lola Run” is a German film which explores the question “what if”. Throughout the film, we are shown the same scenario three times, each with a different decision at the start, which of course leads to a different outcome. The film follows the events between a woman, Lola, and her boyfriend, Manni, who she desperately tries to save from death by helping him obtain a huge amount of money he carelessly lost. It takes you on three different journeys with Lola, all controlled by fate, showing you what would happen in each, and all the “what if’s” that provide the foundations for each outcome.
After watching the film, I had mixed opinions of wether I enjoyed it or not. I liked the idea that the film was obviously trying to portray – different decisions cause different outcomes – however, I found that it was too repetitive and that is why I would probably give the film a 2 out of 5 because after a while I began to get bored.
The editing of the film allowed us to see both what Lola and Manni were doing at the same time in different places, and this helped to build tension. Manni was going to rob a bank if Lola didn’t get to him in time, and by seeing the two characters actions at the same time, we are left wondering “is she going to get there in time” and that built suspense.
A lot of different camera angles were used; e.g close up, mid-shot. This helped the audience see the characters surroundings, which made us understand more about the characters.
Something that I found interesting, which I didn’t realise until the end of the film, was that there were two colours which were used a lot throughout the film. Red and Yellow. These colours usually symbolise danger. The director of the film has cleverly made everything around Lola red (her hair, bike, car, telephone) and everything around Manni, yellow (his hair, supermarket).
So overall, I half enjoyed the film and half didn’t. I defiantly wouldn’t watch it again, but I would maybe like to see some other films from Tom Tykwer (the director of Run Lola Run).
Sophie Gollop 