"Run Lola Run" (1998), Germany, Tom Tykwer director
awards: 28 wins and 20 nominations mostly for best foreign language film
Recurring themes in the film seemed to be chance, fate, and how small choices changes lives. The techniques Tykwer uses to tell the story, black and white from colour, split screen, flash forwards, time lapse, animation, repetition of main action (Lola's run), all helped to emphasize the small moments in peoples lives that could then lead to vastly different results. As small events happen, the timing of the 20 minutes before noon skews and more or less information is revealed to the characters, as in the case of Lola's father discovering his lover is NOT carrying his child, or Lola landing on Herr Meier's bonnet, stopping him from striking the car full of big men. The insistent techno beat underscored Lola's run and gave it urgency. It could have become boring, though, so throwing in the distinctly different song "What a Difference a Day Makes" by Dinah Washington during Lola and Manni's attempted escape from the police gave that scene a surreal touch. As I was researching that song, I discovered that Franke Potente, Lola, sings on numerous songs on the soundtrack- it's like the songs are her thoughts as she's running. The colour red was a recurring theme and helped to pull the pair's discussions of love and death apart from the film. I would recommend this film, absolutely. It's a huge favourite of mine.
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