Run Lola Run

For the first time ever, I am going to write a blog entry before finishing the film I am currently viewing. This film is called Run Lola Run. So far, it is intriguing. Though not spoken in English, the subtitles allow me to understand what exactly is going on as well as possible...if this movie is meant to be understood at all. The technique is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Between the camera movements, story, music, and medium it is being filmed in, this is certianly te most unique film I have ever seen.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the fact that this film goes in between regular action, animation, and quick montage-like polaroids flipping through the screen to tell the entire story. I spent most of the film wondering why the director would choose to film a movie in this way; what advantages does animation have over live action? It certainly intrigues the watcher, but that can't be the only reason it was being implemented. As of this point in the movie, I believe it is used to enhance the story. We saw animation for the most part when Lola was running. Clearly, Lola running is an intricate part to this story and the director wants to draw our attention to this. Not only is it in the title, but her running is being viewed in an entirely different medium than the rest of the film. I believe this draws attention to it, and later on in the film the running will play a large role in the story. This is my prediction, however, and I have no idea whether this will prove true.

Next, and most importantly, I would like to discuss the obvious theme in this film: time. Time and symbols relating to time appear EVERYWHERE. Time was referenced in the first quotes we hear at the beggining of the movie. The camera zooms in on clocks every so often. The first image we see is a swinging pendulum which later we discover hangs down from a giant clock. The first sounds we hear are the ticking of a clock. Throughout the rest of the beggining of the film the music continuously reminds me of the sound of a clock. The music, strategically picked, never lets your heart rest. It keeps you feeling like you yourself are racing the clock, and that you are running out of time.

This theme of clocks connects closely with the idea that timing is everything. This also ran through the amount of the film I have seen so far. Everyone and everything connects to each other, and the timing of the actions are what cause the effect. The movie sets up the idea that every single thing is a chain of reactions, and I believe that something small and insignificant that I saw today will come back at a later time and have a big impact on the story of the movie. Timing and clocks are interwoven throughout the entire story so far and as someone who has now seen and analyzed quite a few movies I believe this is no coincidence.

I will post later once I have seen the rest of the movie. These are my predictions. I could be incredibly wrong. The best movies are the ones that you cannot predict. However, these are my expectations and I am extremley curious to see how well this movie, though as unconventional as it is, follows the traditional ideas of setting the viewer up for what is to come.