Assignment 1, Part 2
The film Run Lola Run starts out with Lola, the protagonist, trying to help her boyfriend, Manni ,retrieve money he owes. Everything is happening fast, with upbeat music and a continuous sense of urgency. Although shortly into the movie Lola is shot in the street and dies, leaving us with no main character.
The main plot twist was the time loop that Lola goes through in order to save herself and her boyfriend Manni. Each time the clock rewinds, Lola’s events happen slightly differently. Depending on her interactions with others or road blocks she encounters along the way. Leaving the final time loop with both her and Manni alive with an extra bag of cash.
– Beginning of film: She ran down the stairs, the dog barked at her. She starts sprinting to her dad’s work. She runs right past the car pulling out, making the guy crash into the other vehicle. Once Lola gets to his work she barges into his office, interrupting the conversation between Jutta and her father. Her dad refuses to help and says he is leaving Lola and her mother to have a baby with Jutta. Lola gets escorted out of her dad’s work. Manni doesn’t wait for Lola and robs the store just as she arrives. After Lola arrives, she helps Manni briefly, until they try to run away and Lola is shot and killed in the street.
– Second part, first time loop: Lola starts running. The man with the dog trips her, she falls down the stairs, setting her back. Lola runs past the guy pulling out in his car, this time lunging over the car. As Lola’s dad and Jutta talk about the pregnancy, Jutta reveals the baby isn’t his, causing them to fight. Lola barges in her dad’s office, he refuses to help her, so she robs his work for the 100,000 marks. Police show up but they don’t arrest her. She asks the ambulance driver for a ride this time, this causes him to crash into the glass. She keeps running and makes it to Manni before he goes to rob the store. Manni gets hit by the same ambulance and dies in the street.
– Third time: Lola jumps over the dog. She runs in front of the guy driving his car, this time she runs into the car. The view of the homeless man is shown, he is spending the money he got from Manni. Lola’s dad and Jutta are speaking, she claims she is pregnant but she doesn’t mention that it isn’t his. Lola’s dad leaves his work before Lola can get to him. Manni spots the homeless guy with his money and gets it back. Lola goes to the casino and wins 100,000 marks. They both retrieve the money that Manni needs and once Manni gives the money he owes back, they have extra money left over. They are both left alive this time.
Since both Manni and Lola acquired the 100,000 marks and they both survived, the cycle didn’t repeat.
There are very subtle breadcrumbs in the film. At the very beginning credits of the movie, the music in the background is like a clock, continuously ticking. There are also many clocks that pop up in the film to display time and the fact they are limited. The music is paced with Lola’s runs, when the music changes it cues something in the plot to change. There are slight flashes of other people’s lives through the film, this shows a butterfly effect. It shows small changes or actions can result in challenges or consequences later.
Chevoks gun:
– Gun that Manni uses to trade for his bag of cash back.
– Manni’s bag of cash, it is the drive of the movie.
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