run lola run scene analysis

The scene that I’m choosing to analyze is the beginning scene from “Run Lola Run”, one of my favorites. Lola, a young German woman, finds out that her boyfriend Manni is in serious trouble and needs a large sum of money ASAP (I’m skipping over a lot of details but this is the basic plot background information needed to understand the scene analysis). The movie goes through different timelines, I suppose, or versions (?) of what could possibly happen as an outcome of Lola’s different choices during her pursuit to help her boyfriend. Anyway, the scene I’ve chosen begins as soon as Manni and Lola hang up the phone and Lola begins to run. Here’s a clip:

The scene begins with a shot of Manni’s concerned face and then it cuts away to a clock, giving us a sense of how little time Lola has. We hear beeping indicating that Manni’s pay phone time has run out, also reminding us his actual time is running out. It cuts to a shot of Manny from above in the small phone booth as he puts his head down in frustration. The edits are smooth so far and the imagery – the clock, Manni in a confined phone booth – gives of the feel of time closing in.

We then see a television screen in Lola’s where huge set up of dominoes is being knocked over. It cuts to Lola looking at the clock. The clock is being zoomed in on, at some times smoothly and at some times there are jump cuts purposefully giving us little jolts forward in time. The intellectual edit sets up the theme in which the decisions that Lola makes in the little time she has a domino effect resulting in the final outcome of that particular timeline. We hear the sound of dominoes falling even when the screen is not showing it. We can also hear a quickening ticking of the clock.

There are then multiple front shots of Lola starting from a mid shot the moving in to a close up (It zooms out at time as well, but just small bits, the ending result is to get closer to her face). The cuts are choppy, breaking continuity, taking us into the stress of Lola trying to come up with a plan. Her hands are on her temples her eyes are closed, it jumps, her hands are pulling at her hair her eyes are wide open, it jumps, her face looks worried, it jumps again, her face looks concentrated. The background music is getting faster and louder. The camera starts to spin around Lola as she tries to think of people who can help her. Shots of the faces of the people she is considering flash on screen for split seconds as the camera continues to spin around her. We hear her whispers of their name, but her lips are not moving. We are in her mind. It finally lands on her papa and she says “papa” out loud. Lola quickly turns and runs out, but the camera does not follow.  Shot of her dad pops back on screen and he looks to the side and gives a small head shake, foreshadowing what his reaction to her pleas for help would be.

The camera then follows her out her room door and someone who lives with her shouts something out as she is running. There are still no cuts since she started running. The camera circles the random lady and lands on the t.v. she sits in front of zooming in to the picture itself which is an animation of Lola running down what seems to be an endless spiral staircase. The music is becoming more intense and we start to hear lyrics now – up until now it was lyric-less.

The Lola animation opens the door to go outside and it fades to white and then back to color, of the outside of her building. Lola is running towards the camera, we see her red hair far away getting closer. She gets closer and closer until it looks as if the camera is going to bump into her stomach. At that moment it immediately cuts to the other side, we are seeing her run from behind. The music is matching the pace of her panic-y run. We see Lola run down the street from behind, the shot is smooth at points and then for other moments there are jumps in Lola’s running.

The whole bit really effectively gives the audience the feel for the pace of the movie. The rhythm of Lola’s running matches the music and the jump cuts gives makes it feel like little time lurches. The intellectual edits match the themes of the film.