The 1998 German film Run Lola Run calls to question the actions and choices of individuals and how these factors alter their fates through the unique display of three separate, but similar timelines. This theme is introduced to the viewer through the beginning and end of each of Lola’s three runs, the timing of getting to Manni being the ultimate difference. Lola’s three runs not only affected Manni and herself but all the people she confronted on the way. Many of the minor character’s futures were shown during the timelines after each interaction, though very different from one to the next. This is the film’s concept of fate and how it can be altered by certain circumstances, choices, and timings during an individual’s day, thus representing the domino effect. The film even hints at this by cutting to a display of a line of dominos falling on the television as Lola’s red phone is hanging in the air. The domino effect of each confrontation, whether short or long, drastically shifts the
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From the opening credits, the sound of a ticking clock plays as camera moves slowly up the visual of the swinging pendulum into the mouth of the gargoyle clock, suggesting that the audience is entering a story about time. The plot is driven by the continuous flashes of clocks, fast-paced techno music, and Lola’s obsession for the time during each of the separate runs. The references to time are the filmmaker’s way of presenting how any tiny bit of time is crucial, so it should not be wasted. Run Lola Run raises the suggestion that our time is in our control. As Lola’s first run concludes, she is lying on the ground dying from a gunshot wound, she breaks the fourth wall and says “stop,” which starts the run over at the beginning of the spiral staircase. This moment alludes to the concept that individuals control how meaningful our time is and that we can make a change in a brief
From the opening credits, the sound of a ticking clock plays as camera moves slowly up the visual of the swinging pendulum into the mouth of the gargoyle clock, suggesting that the audience is entering a story about time. The plot is driven by the continuous flashes of clocks, fast-paced techno music, and Lola’s obsession for the time during each of the separate runs. The references to time are the filmmaker’s way of presenting how any tiny bit of time is crucial, so it should not be wasted. Run Lola Run raises the suggestion that our time is in our control. As Lola’s first run concludes, she is lying on the ground dying from a gunshot wound, she breaks the fourth wall and says “stop,” which starts the run over at the beginning of the spiral staircase. This moment alludes to the concept that individuals control how meaningful our time is and that we can make a change in a brief