RUN LOLA RUN..
Run Lola Run by German film director Tom Tykwer is a 1998 thriller/action which depicts protagonist Lola who finds herself with 20 minutes to get $100,000 to her boyfriend Manni or he will be killed.
Tom Tykwer uses a range of techniques to explore his message in the film; possibilities. Tykwer uses a chain of events which shift depending on Lola’s actions/choices or occasionally circumstance. This enforces Tykwer’s message of possibility. The key film technique used is the aerial-shot or birds eye view which zooms into Lola where the film begins. Throughout the film Lola interacts with several characters which either prevent or aid her in reaching Manni on time; these characters faces are seen in the beginning of film much like a video game.
Music and space. The music in the film remains upbeat and uneasy to create the atmosphere of urgency, this is enhanced by having Lola constantly on foot, once again bringing in the video game style of often having your character on foot as well, using surrounding materials to help achieve their goal; such as Lola using the payphone or running to her fathers bank rather than giving him a call, Tykwer expressed Lola as a video game character very well by showing and not telling. The opening credits showcase two quotes; one by American-English Poet Thomas Stearns Eliot which follows;
“At the end of our exploring we shall not cease from exploration . . . and the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive where we started. . . and know the place for the first time.“ - T.S. Eliot
What does T.S. Eliot’s quote mean in regard to the film?
TICKING..
Ticking focuses on the morning routine of running late Nadene who must rethink her actions to get to work on time.
Similarly to Tykwers intro, the technique used is beginning at the front door and up to the screaming clock. This creates a sense of urgency which is kept up throughout the rest of the film. This time-lapse acts as a reset in the film, much like a video game and a shown path of where Nadene needs to reach to be on time. Inspiration from video games such as Assassins Creed and Grand Theft Auto came into play by having the reset located in the bedroom, where the day begins and ends or are re spawned when failing a mission. This was vital in my film as my plot is influenced by my actions the night before. Filming techniques consisted of repetitive scenes with a steady camera, in hindsight, a less steady frame would have helped achieve a more intense sense of urgency.
Sound and space. I decided to mute my clips and focus primarily on the sound of the clock and added in effects. The sound of ticking helps remind the audience the urgency of the situation and represents the intensity and/or stress one suffers when running late, drowning out all other aspects. This helps achieve the focus on time. At certain points in my film, time appears to be decreasing or increasing with indications through colour therapy depending on certain choices I make.
How did I implement video games, chance, and possibility? Video games were most prominent through the digital clock, (though the main focus was an analog clock), sitting on the screen like lives left or injury in a game. Chance and possibility are seen in the final scene with the water hitting me; this does not correlate into the story line as much as other scenes but focuses on creating the idea that I am a game which (you) the audience is playing. You can shift my reality. This was inspired by the elderly lady in Tykwers film pushing a pram. The analysis; was the child kidnapped, is she the mother, grandmother etc? Deciding on; this is a game, Lola is a character just as the rest and her reality is questioned when something that doesn't make sense such as an elderly lady and a newborn is seen. To which my equivalent is water thrown at me from what is assumed; the audience.
MANIFESTO 1 TIMES PERSPECTIVE
It is not I you battle against but the decisions I influences you to make. You race against yourself and your knowledge of the game you play too well or not well enough. To find success is to understand that one must be willing to bend the rules of their game. I am not flesh nor soul, I am merely an essence, an aura that surrounds you all and can be seen through how you interact within your environments. Your fate of possibilities lies in my hands and how seriously you choose to take me.
MANIFESTO 2 CAMERAS PERSPECTIVE
Ticking away while she sleeps, I climb the stairs and into the bedroom where she lays. A hand slams us into silence and suddenly I am above her. Her eyes flicker open and meet with my three, past me rushes and to the floor I am condemned. She struggles with her laces and ignores the option beside her. I want to tell her to watch out for what is coming, I scream but she does not hear me, all I can do is watch. The foreign came from behind or below me but I cannot turn my head as much as it aches me. She freezes in time and suddenly we are back to where we begun. Tick tock moves the clock and she is up before I can hover above her, her eyes do not meet with my three and to the floor I am condemned once again. To my eyes her toes meet and we are where we were before, I try to look behind me but I cannot, I focus my eyes on the umbrella in the corner and she listens. Up it comes and the foreign hits the umbrella, not her. With relief darkness takes over me.
STORYBOARD
A briefly sketched board which helped in visualising what would and would not work.
TICKING (MY FILM)
https://youtu.be/guLzwKAXl3E
REFERENCES
gifer. Digital Mechanics [Image]. Retrieved from https://gifer.com/en/AksR
Dream Running Music 1 HOUR (Trance Music for Racing Game). (2020). [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaBpyvKjQjs&list=PLVlpeRxuqMaTGwLitChNNLsIBT3ZqwcBz&index=6
gfycat. Gif [Image]. Retrieved from https://gfycat.com/antiquemellowamericanrobin
gyfcat. gif [Image]. Retrieved from https://gfycat.com/discover/countdown-clock-gif-gifs
Tykwer, T. (2011). - Lola Rennt - "Running One" [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppeZQ8inevE
