Kleidonopoulos 1 LOLA RENNT [Literally Meaning “Lola Runs”] Is A

Kleidonopoulos 1 LOLA RENNT [literally meaning “Lola runs”] is a 1998 german film, internationally known as “Run Lola Run”, written and directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as her other half, Manni. It tells the story of how Lola is trying to save her boyfriend from a life-threating situation; after not being able to pick him up after an important business meeting, Manni loses a bag containing 100,000 marks -that belongs to his boss, a crime lord- and urges Lola to help him out, because otherwise he would die. Tom Tykwer manages to create a contemporary classic, combining archetypal notions and characters with extremely innovative film-making and story-telling. The lavish original score was composed by Tykwer himself, along with Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, incorporating several conventional film music techniques like Eisenstein’s vertical montage and Wagner’s leitmotif. Being inventive though, they are using techno music, taking their objective to the next level. Additionally, techno music works as a cultural reference, reflecting the social scene where Lola and Manni are coming from; the obscure, underground world of the late 1990’s in Berlin, where the film is set. Besides the music, Kleidonopoulos 2 sound -like the use of clock ticking- is imperative in the film’s narrative, which includes deep philosophical questions regarding life, choices, decisions and destiny. The title of the film alone -with the use of the verb “run”- is suggesting a sense of urgency which, subsequently, points out one of the major themes in the film; that of time. Even though time is a very abstract concept, it has a constant and universal trait; time is endless, like a spiral, continuously repeating itself. Tom Tykwer -quoting famous german football player and manager Sepp Herberger- states in the beginning of the film that “After the game is before the game”, distinguishing the cyclical nature of life. LOLA RENNT is structured like a spiral too, consisting of the repeated telling of the same story, but with a different outcome each time. This spiral notion is present throughout the film, not only in its repeating parts, but in the score, in various spiral movements of the camera, in Lola’s actual and filmic quest, in several visual representations, in the location Lola and Manni are meeting [Spirale Bar] and even in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo references too. Kleidonopoulos 3 The film is fragmented into seven distinct parts: 1. pre-opening title sequence + opening credits 2. prelude 3. RUN I 4. interlude I 5. RUN II 6. interlude II 7. RUN III The first part is very short but striking, setting the mood of the film and pointing out the concepts that are going to be developed. The repetitive sound of a clock ticking builds into the music, consisting of a series of repetitive electronic beats which climax when the title is shown and the animated opening credits begin. One endless musical theme morphing into another, all adding up to a collection of spiral music melodies. This sequence, a perfectly synchronized arrangement of all the aspects within the frame, including its composition, its music and their movements, is an apt example of vertical montage. All the layers that form the sequence are “aligned”, simultaneously triggering all of the senses under a clear correlation of the stimulants. Kleidonopoulos 4 PRELUDE The prelude is the second part of the film, the part where we learn what happened and how Lola is -literally- called to save her loved one, Manni. Quite interestingly, the premise could easily be characterized as noir, since Manni is working for an underground criminal and on the day of an important deal, everything goes wrong. Lola, being some sort of post femme fatale, is the one who makes the initial mistake which leads to the ominous spiral of actions. She does not pick him up where they had said, but it was not her fault; her moped got stolen while she was buying cigarettes. Although she was trying to reach Manni in a taxi, in the wrong part of the city, he decided to use the subway. Through a series of unfortunate events, Manni loses a bag containing 100,000 marks that has to be delivered to his crime boss; the bag is found and kept by a homeless man Manni encountered in the subway. The twist that deviates from the classic noir narrative is the fact that Lola, being this post character, decides to take control and fix the situation. Interestingly, the woman is the one who will step in and save the day, while the man is panicking, “trapped” in a phone booth, not knowing what to do. Kleidonopoulos 5 At this point, it is imperative to point out the expressive choice of names of the characters. Lola + Manni. So archetypal both, so dual. Literally, and metaphorically. Considering the pop culture-saturated background of the movie, and of course the time of its release, it is safe to assume that Lola can be considered a name with a negative connotation to it. A name for an adventurous woman who might get herself in trouble. Nabokov’s Lolita has even added a certain perversely sexual appeal to it. But this name, besides conveying a stereotypical femme fatale, it has a deeper meaning. Lola derives from the name Dolores, which is spanish means sorrows. While Lola has many sorrows, she also has another attribute. In sanskrit, Lola is a male name [Lo-luh] and it means "moving to and fro", which is what the emancipated Lola is doing throughout the film. Additionally, the [repeating] sound of the two-syllable pronunciation of the word is clearly suggesting an endless game. Manni’s name is equally, if not more, interesting and meaningful. Usually, the name Mani, either the german version of it -diminutive of Manfred, or the more significant sanskrit -yet again- version, is spelled with one n. While Manfred is an epic name used by Lord Byron in an epic poem meaning “man of peace”, Mani is a mystical sanskrit name meaning “jewel”, but could also refer to the phallus. While Manni has all this features, he is spelled with two “n”. Personally, I believe that it is simply stating the obvious, since man in german is spelled mann. Besides setting a very elaborate context and giving depth to the characters, this sequence is very well structured as far as the music and sound is concerned. As the majority of the film, Kleidonopoulos 6 this part is heavily scored with constant music playing in the background. The accumulative combination of endless riffs, one leading into the other, goes seamlessly from the opening credits to the first scene and is suddenly interrupted by a red telephone ringing. The first moment of silence is right before Lola and Manni talk for the first time. While they are telling each other what happened there is still tense and mysterious music playing; recurring themes which seem to be climaxing just because one is stitched after another, adding to the stressful advent of the story. In several moments though, distinct sounds like keyboards or percussion is used to set a specific tone or suggest an idea. The music builds up to a very loud conversing between the main characters and, ultimately, Lola screaming. Then deafening silence again. That is the point where she decides that the option of destiny is not enough and takes fate into her own hands. She is going to try and save her other half. The phone call continues in silence, with Lola telling Manni that she would meet him in twenty minutes and Manni telling Lola that if she did not succeed he would rob a near supermarket, but is interrupted by the sound of his phone card credit ending. The prelude ends where Lola embarks on her mini, epic, spiral journey. RUN I The first run begins. Lola leaves her mother at her father’s home, and is heading to her father [presumably at his office] to ask for help. She is running as fast as she can, through various urban sites in Berlin. The score is a constant build-up, with multiple repetitive themes building up and constructing a complex composition, which is custom made for the first run alone. The theme song of the Kleidonopoulos 7 film starts playing as well, called “Believe” and performed by Franka Potente herself. The music, along with the fast-paced filming, slows down -still being tense though- and after some mellow vocals the scene is cut abruptly, only to establish new characters. Tom Tykwer used 35mm film to shoot all the scenes involving Lola and Manni, but used video for the rest. In this case, it is Lola’s father having an intimate talk with his co-worker and mistress. The image lacks the previous crispness and there is no music. It is clear that Lola is going to interrupt this discussion. The theme of this run is back on when we see Lola again, running fast and, ultimately, reaching the Bank where her father works. The music continues playing even while she is running in the Bank and, suddenly, stops when she enters her father’s office. There is clear tension in the atmosphere while Lola realizes her father’s betrayal to his family and to her, since he denies helping her. Music comes in gradually during their fight and leads up to Lola’s [second] scream and then picks up again. Again, there is no music during crucial dialogue and her exiting the Bank; it gradually starts again when she remembered that she has limited time.

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