Movement – Run Lola Run

The carefully choreographed movement that occurs in a film between characters, camera, and setting goes relatively unappreciated. Kinetics, camera movement, and the distortion of movement work in unison throughout a film to persuade the viewers’ perception. The film Run Lola Run (Germany, 1998), directed by Tom Tykwer, masterfully choreographs movement to accentuate events as they unfold.

The film opens with a bird’s eye view of a city. The camera swoops down and zeros in on a single apartment. The camera carries us through the window, down a hallway and into a room where the camera zooms in on the red telephone. This journey zooms us from the vastness of the world into the small world of one girl, whose life is about to be changed by a phone call received on a relatively insignificant telephone. The speed at which this journey occurs is significant. It is fast paced and symbolic of the adventure Lola is about to face. If the shot were filmed at a slower or even real time pace the significance would have been lost and misleading, presenting a sense of calm or normalcy that the audience would have associated with a slower movement. This distortion of movement is also a distortion of time, but just one of many ways movement can affect perception.

Lola has received her fateful phone call from Manny who is desperately seeking her help. Once the call has ended Lola is standing alone in the middle of the room trying to collect her thoughts. The camera swirls frantically around Lola who is stationary at the center of the shot. Flashes of acquaintances that may provide her with some help are seen. The urgency of her thought are portrayed by the speed of the camera circling her, as she gains focus the intensity of the swirling slows to a halt as the viewer learns that she will seek her father’s help. This representation of thoughts through the swirling camera movement associates Lola’s thoughts with the feeling most people experience when urgently seeking a solution.

Throughout Run Lola Run the many uses of movement available to a director are used. Most of the movement in the film is achieved through camera movement and mechanical distortions, such as animation or slow motion. There are moments when kinetic movement of the actors contributes to the content of a scene, most notably when Lola and Manny are surrounded by the police resulting in fatality. Tom Tykwer’s use of movement resonates throughout the film, dramatically contributing to its overall content.