Run_Lola_Run_Speech

Run Lola Run Speech Good morning teachers and students, In movies, love is an indescribable feeling, a driving force behind two lovers’ actions that can lead one to do carry out uncontrolled acts of sacrifice and commitment; and in this movie, you can say it is quite similar. Run Lola Run is a film by Tom Tykwer about Lola, who in desperation tries to obtain one hundred thousand dollars to save her boyfriend, Mani’s life. The film addresses the themes of love and money as driving forces behind an individual’s action. In my chosen image, the scene conveys these two main themes as well as addressing determinism, freewill and desperation. My chosen still shot is image number six, a medium shot of Mani that shows both Mani and his surroundings where Mani is seen to be enclosed in a telephone booth with a telephone clenched in his hand on the phone with Lola. Mani is depicted to be putting on a worried frowning facial expression in this still shot. He is facing downwards at a slight angle which shows the desperation in Mani that he needs someone to help him pay up otherwise he would be killed, in this case, his girlfriend Lola. Relating it to the theme of love and trust though, Mani’s eyes are closed, which goes to show that he is reassured by Lola, his first option that she would be able to save him before he runs out of time and would have to rely on himself to save himself, such as robbing a supermarket as shown in one of the runs when Lola fails to reach Mani on time with the money. Relating it back to the telephone call to Lola, the minimal amount of time he has left is spent talking to Lola, showing how important she is and as mentioned earlier, his first option for help. Not only do the themes of love and trust relate to this still shot, the theme of time constraints can also be included. Mani’s upper body is positioned in between the two frames of the telephone booth, accentuating his facial expressions and body language. Furthermore, Tykwer also expressed time constraints metaphorically by positioning Mani in a telephone booth, isolated and trapped and only depending on one action, the phone call to Lola. The theme of determinism and desperation can also be seen through Mani’s body stance. Through his body language, eyes closed, facing downwards and firmly grasping the phone, as seen from the veins on his arms, he is both determined and desperate to try get Lola’s help. Furthermore, the use of the phone and the phone box which encloses him off from the outside shows how he is fully focusing on the phone call he is making, further supported by how his back is facing the street. In this still shot, Mani is left with no freewill, no options, this further enhances the value of freewill that Mani does not have now. The phone call he is making to Lola shows that Lola has more freewill than him now to help attain the money needed in order to save his life. Although he has a few options, such as calling his friends, they are limited and are not able to help him at all, leading him to rely on Lola and wait for her, the power of love and trust. In order to save Mani, Lola goes through so much just to raise the money needed to save him within a given time, Mani is fully trusts Lola to wait for her and not do anything rash until he is left with absolutely no other choices. In this image, it shows a moment in life where you have to fully trust someone you love, left with no other choices or freewill, desperate yet determined, this still shot is a very insightful and yet significant scene of the movie. Thank you.