Run Lola Run

Module A: Experience Through Language

Elective 2:Distinctively Visual

How our perceptions of and relationships with others and the world are shaped in

written, spoken and visual language

How the conventions of textual forms, language modes and media shape meaning

Module A: Experience Through Language

Communication

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

This elective concentrates on how language features and structures are manipulated by the composer to create distinctively visual effects. It focuses on:- developing your awareness of language- helps you understand how perceptions of, and relationships with,

others and the world are shaped in and through film language.

Visual details enhance what is being represented:- these may influence the responder’s evaluation and analysis of the

subject and wider context- enhance your exploration of language- enhance the development of your own distinctively visual

compositions.

Elective 2: Distinctively Visual

• In their responding and composing students explore the ways the images we see in texts are created.

• Students consider how the forms and language of different texts create these images, affect interpretation and shape meaning.

Assessment TaskSpeech with PowerPoint

presentation

Distinctively VisualImage: How the forms and language of different texts create

images, affect interpretation and shape meaning

Module A: Experience Through Language

Imagery: the images we visualiseImages: the images we see

Bush all around – bush with no horizon, for the country is flat. No ranges in the distance. The bush consists of stunted, rotten native apple-trees. No undergrowth. Nothing to relieve the eye save the darker green of a few she-oaks which are sighing above the narrow, almost waterless creek.

Distinctevely Visual

POINTS TO CONSIDER:

Lola as a superhuman (avatar) who rebels against father and society

An electronic, virtually real punk Berlin

Chaos of possibilities Plurality of viewpoints Flashbacks and snapshots of the

future Split screen and jump cuts

heighten tension Pastiche of 35mm colour and

monochrome film, video, and animation

Symbolism: close-up of clocks ticking towards high-noon = fate

Non-diegetic sound: frenetic, pulsating techno soundtrack

Distinctively VisualIdeas and Meaning

We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time - T.S.Eliot, ‘Little Gidding’“The journey not the arrival matters” T.S. Eliot.

Coincidence as the arbiter of destiny - three alternative versions

Crime and its effect on essentially innocent individuals

Time as an unforgiving concept

DISTINCTIVELY VISUAL ELEMENTS IN ‘RUN LOLA RUN’

• A totally different look and style to mainstream Hollywood productions• A hybrid combination of live action and animation, colour and black and

white footage, 35mm and handheld video camerawork• Undeniably contemporary and experimental style• The single most distinctive visual feature is the image of a sprinting,

flame-haired woman – Lola’s athleticism and stamina give off an incredible kinetic energy that propels the film physically and metaphorically

• A complex range of cinematic techniques have been used to achieve the visual impact that is the key feature of the film

• Manipulation of what is seen begins with the central running figure of Lola that is shot from multiple angles throughout the film.

• The viewers are positioned to see her sprinting figure as a heroic quest to save a life.

Run Lola Run100,000 in 20 minutes, or lose the game.

• Spirals: Spirals represent the circular narrative, and the cyclical and interconnected nature of life. Here are some thoughts: “…spirals represent confusion and desperation. It is used in scenes in which a character is unsure of what to do or is puzzled about what is going to happen next. The spiral is used to imply Manni's confusion about the events of the day prior to his call to Lola while he is outside of the Spiral Bar. The logo of the bar, a spinning spiral that hangs above the entrance, is seen above Manni's head as he makes his frenzied call to Lola. The spiral helps the viewer to understand the confused thoughts that are running through Manni's head as to what to do about the money he owes to Ronnie, a German gangster. It also represents Manni's desperation for help, which is the reason he calls Lola in the first place. It is seen with Lola as first leaves her house she is seen running down a spiral staircase”

• Boxes: Manni is often filmed within a box, or looking at boxes. This symbolises his feeling trapped within his situations. It is not until he comes out of the telephone booth in the final sequence that he stops looking at boxes or being trapped within one (he is able to chase down the bum and retrieve his money, thus freeing him from his situation)

Symbolism is used in film to imply thoughts, feelings, or ideas in the characters that the director does not want to state outright through speech or action.

• Colours (Red): “…red is used to symbolize danger and death. Not only does the film use red, it uses an intense, vivid shade of the brightest red. We are easily able to see the colour on different objects as it stands out and catches our eye as we watch. The first time we see the colour red, it is the phone that Lola answers in her apartment. Sitting in the middle of the room, the bright red phone seems to be the bearer of bad news - news of danger and death. After Lola answers the phone, we realize that we were correct as Manni gives her the disastrous news.” The intermission scenes after each death are also tinged with this same vibrant red. Red also acts as a reflection of the situation and heightened passions.

• Glass: symbol of vulnerability (esp. when tested by Lola’s force). When she shatters both her father’s clock and the glasses of the casino patrons, it’s as if she is shattering their world (symbolically).

Repetition

• Director Tom Tykwer is a fan of repetition—both visual and aural… Tykwer's use of "Groundhog Day" repetitiveness, with its three parallel realities, often gives us a second and sometimes even a third chance to see certain events in the movie.

• The purpose of the repetition is to highlight the concepts of chance (and the slight changes which affect it). It also allows the audience to grasp a deeper meaning of the film by being able to compare the scenarios.

Quotes and TimeThe text is also filmed in real time. That is, the approximate time of the events within the film are the same as time in real life.

Quotations by T.S. Eliot and Sepp Herberger: The modern poet talks about circular time, continuous learning and expanding perspectives. Germany’s soccer hero Herberger, who coached the German national team to win the 1954 world cup, on the other hand simply states: “After the game is before the game”. Time is the main character in Run Lola Run and the rules of the game are quickly established: come up with 100.000 DM in twenty minutes or you lose. After all, the German word Spiel means 'game' and a feature film (or Spielfilm) lasts about ninety minutes.”

“The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory. Off we go!”

“Man... probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of unanswered questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we think we know? Why do we believe anything at all? Countless questions in search of an answer... an answer that will give rise to a new question... and the next answer will give rise to the next question and so on. But, in the end, isn't it always the same question? And always the same answer?”

20• 20 is a significant integer of the film: 20

minute deadline, 20 minute sequences, number 20 at the casino.

• Lola learns not to rely on parental support and as such. Lola also figures out how to win her game. Instead of robbing a supermarket or a bank, she finds herself in front of a casino. she screams and breaks a lot of glass and shatters realism. Not having to depend on weapons or her father, she has learned to trust herself and uses her voice to stop the wheel of time and the roulette wheel to win the 100,000 DM. It has taken her twenty minutes and she bets everything on 20 (significance of ‘20’).

Video Game Concept

• The plot of the film is non-linear, in a similar way to video games. This idea is obviously supported by the three lives idea: make a mistake, die, re-spawn, try again by slightly changing your decisions. In each sequence, the characters also gain ‘new skills’ (such as Lola learning how to use a gun correctly).

• This is also further supported by the cartoon Lola sequence: It is this which is where the first change in each sequence occurs (with her run in with the boy and his dog).

• Lola is also given three chances in this film to start over, whereas many similar films only give two chances. Consider: It's obvious that Lola simply saved her game right after she spoke to Manni on the phone, so she could go back and try again if the game ended. And just as she would do playing a video game, Lola uses knowledge acquired in previous iterations and anticipates some of the obstacles that tripped her up before, making the replay smoother...at least until new obstacles crop up.

Clocks and Time• The cartoon Lola is swallowed up by the pendulum clock in the opening

sequence – highlighting the significance of clocks and time from the very beginning.

• She is able to use her voice to stop time (casino scene), and time is what dictates the entire film (the 20 minute deadline).

• It is interesting to note that in the opening credits, each name disappears with the stroke of the pendulum clock, again symbolic of the importance of time and its effects on people.

• The audience is constantly aware of the time, and clocks are a constant feature of the film. They have an increased presence as each sequence comes to a close, thus increasing the tension of the scene as the characters ‘race against time’.

Three Sequences and Chance• The point of the alternate storylines is, of

course, a simple take on the butterfly effect – the old theory that the tiniest interactions have the most drastic consequences. Every time Lola begins her run something minor occurs in the beginning animated segment, and it generally informs the new direction her run will take her.

• Tykwer is making an argument for the idea of predestination and fate with these runs. When Lola runs past a cyclist the first time and we see his future, we see that he eventually crashes, falls in love with the nurse who helps him recover, and the two live happily ever after. The second time Lola passes him, we see that he becomes a bum. Everything is all a game of chance, and our lives all depend on the tiny interactions that make them up. (This also highlights the significance of her winning roulette – a game of chance – to “win” the overall “game” of the story).

• Life is a complex interaction between chance and order. Chance adds uncertainty to the direction of events, but order is imposed by a number of factors, including the human will.

• The “What If…” idea: this links in with the butterfly effect. The idea of “what if…I didn’t meet that person/catch that train/say that thing” changing the ultimate outcome of the day.

Extended Response Questions1. In What ways are people and their experiences brought to life through the

distinctively visual?In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

2. What important elements have helped to create distinctive and effective visual impacts in Run Lola Run and ONE other related text of your own choosing.

3. Compare the ways the distinctively visual is created in Run Lola Run and in ONE other related text of your own choosing.

4. Every image is different and every image reveals to us its own vision of the world. How true is this statement of Run Lola Run and ONE other related text of your own choosing.