5th Post: Run Lola Run

Director: Tom Tykwer

“Run Lola Run” is about a girl on a pressing mission to save her boyfriend, Manni.
In the beginning of the movie after she gets off the phone with Manni, she frantically knows time is of the essence and must find a way to get $100,000 in less than 20 minutes or else Manni dies.

Scene: Lola's room
Shot 1: CU of Lola’s face
Shot 2: CU of Manni’s face
The scene cuts back and forth for a while as their conversation gets more intense and heated to the point that Manni is freaking out on the phone to Lola. The cuts are fast paced running parallel with the rising urgency of their conversation.
Shot 3: Cuts to a bird’s eye view; medium shot of Lola looking up as she screams, “Shut up!”
Shot 4: Then jump cuts 3 times to Lola’s face—her mouth open in a long and piercing scream. This shot extends the urgency and peak of Lola’s scream.
Shot 5: Then cuts to a medium shot of a tv set and the glass bottles resting on top shatter.
Shot 6: Low-angle shot of windows—shades are half drawn and crooked.
Shot 7: Medium shot of Lola’s wall; camera zooms in on a blown up Polaroid of her and Manni
Shot 8: Continuity shot zooms in on a close up of a cluster of plastic dolls leaning against a wall.
Shot 9: Floor level shot of Lola’s shoes and her plaid green pants in foreground while a pet turtle walks across the screen.
Shot 10: Extreme CU of Lola’s face
Shot 11: CU of Manni’s face—peering from outside the phone booth
Shot 12: Medium CU of Lola
Shot 13: Long shot of yellow telephone booth Manni is in. Bolle store and buildings are in the background. Telephoto lens shot.
Shot 14: Medium CU of Manni in phone booth as his face turns away from camera and looks toward the spiral bar in the background.
Shot 15: Different medium CU of Manni’s profile as he turns away from camera again but looks across the road at the Bolle store.
Shot 16: Extreme CU of Lola’s face as she tells Manni she’ll be there in 20 minutes and for him to stay put.
Shot 17: Manni’s POV from phone booth; medium long shot of Bolle store. The frame is intersected by the phone booth door to place the viewer in Manni’s shoes as he is planning on robbing the store.
Shot 18: Low-angle, CU of Manni’s face
Shot 19: Extreme CU of Lola’s face
Shot 20: Low-angle CU of Manni’s face
Shot 21: CU of Manni’s lower back as he reaches for his gun and pulls it out
Shot 22: Continuity cutting to Bird’s eye view of the top of Manni’s head looking at the gun in his hand while Lola is trying to convince him to not rob the store.
Shot 23: CU of Manni as he concludes he is going to rob the store.
Shot 24: Medium shot of Lola
Shot 25: Low-angle CU of Manni’s face
Shot 26: Extreme CU of Lola’s face
Shot 27: Eye Level CU of Manni
Shot 28: CU of Lola’s profile
Shot 29: CU of Manni’s face
Shot 30: Medium CU of Lola
Shot 31: Medium CU of Manni
Shot 32: Long shot of Bolle store building; the focal point is the clock
Shot 33: Medium CU of Manni
Shot 34: CU of phone card sticking out of its slot
Shot 35: CU of Manni’s face looking down
Shot 36: Bird’s eye view of Manni’s head as he puts the gun back into the back of his pants and rests his arms over the telephone.
Fast cut montage sequence of Lola and her swirling thoughts on who to get help from. Techno trance music begins and the tempo of the editing syncs with the beats.
All the shots consist of low key lighting to bring out shadows of Lola’s face, and the menacing clock dictating every second of her lover’s life. The following montage plays with expanding the time of Lola throwing the phone receiver and her frantic search for help in her mind.
Shot 37: zooms in on a medium shot of tv set; line of dominoes are falling
Shot 38: zooms in on a medium CU of Lola’s profile as she turns her face toward the camera. Her eye line is looking toward something.
Shot 39: zooms in on a medium shot of a clock hanging on her wall
Shot 40: fast zooms on medium shot of Lola’s face; her eye line facing the clock.
Shot 41: cuts back to a medium shot of the clock; jump cuts closer to the clock to go with the tempo of the techno-trance beat
Shot 42: medium shot of Lola tossing the phone receiver in the air
Shot 43: medium shot of red phone swirling in slow motion toward the left of frame
Shot 44: Medium CU of red receiver in slow motion floating across the left of frame
Shot 45: CU of red receiver still floating
Shot 46: short zoom in on medium shot of tv set with dominoes still falling
Shot 47: Jump cuts to extreme CU of dominoes falling
Shot 48: CU of red phone receiver falling vertically down
Shot 49: Jump cuts to bird’s eye view; medium shot of receiver hovering over the phone body.
Shot 50: Medium shot of Lola framed in the center thinking of who to go to for help; arms down next to her side
Shot 51: Jump cut of same medium shot; hands next to her temples and her eyes closed.
Shot 52: Jump cut as camera is slowly zooming in; medium shot at eye level
Shot 53: Jump cuts to CU of Lola; she is still centered in the frame; her hands in her hair; low key lighting
Shot 54: Jump cuts back to medium shot of Lola; hands still at her temple
Shot 55: Cuts to medium shot of Lola; hands in her hair and eyes open
Shot 56: Cuts back to medium shot of Lola; hands next to her temples; eyes closed again
Shot 57: medium shot of Lola centered in frame; hands back in her hair, eyes open
Shot 58: medium CU of Lola; hands back on her temple; eyes closed
Shot 59: medium CU of Lola; hands in her hair; eyes open
Shot 60: CU of Lola; hands in her forehead; eyes closed
Shot 61: CU of Lola; hands next to her temples; eyes closed then open
Shot 62: CU of Lola; hands in her hair; eyes open
Shot 63: CU of the base of red phone as the receiver falls on top of it
Shot 64: Cartoon of a bald man with glasses and suit slides into the foreground of frame and reaches to the left of frame for a wipe transition leading to the next shot.
Tom Tyker's usage of tempo editing to go along with the beat of music explored the spatial and temporal aspect of Lola and her mission to rescue Manni. Tykwer was able to use narrative continuity editing to go along with the several ways of Lola rescuing Manni which was cleverly planned to go with the underlying domino effect. This is shown through her various encounters with the same people and obstacles throughout her race against time.

-Star Brown