After seeing some clips of this film in some of my film classes, I decided I wanted to rent it and see what it was all about. Not really knowing what to expect, I must say when the film was over I was impressed.
There are so many aspects of this film that I like. Where do I begin? Well for one, I love the whole look of the film. Set in Germany, the film has a very retro look to it. The main character, Lola (Franka Potente), has bleached red hair and is running around in a tank top and what looks to be plaid pants and boots. Her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) is dressed in a tan colored shirt, jeans and a black vest. For most of the film he is at an intersection where there is a coffee shop or a bar behind him, which is painted in a unique palette of colors and designs. The music lends itself well to the retro feel. The score is that of a fast paced techno/rave kind of music. This music enhances the effect of the film because of its fast paced beat. Since Lola is in a race against time, running across town to reach her boyfriend, the fast paced beat gives a sense of urgency to the situation.
I was impressed with the use of animation in the film. When Lola initially leaves her home she has to run down a flight of steps to get out of the building. Rather than film her running down the flights of steps, the director, Tom Tykwer, chose to show the scene as a cartoon with an animated Lola running down animated steps. The scene works its way into the film by being shown on television as the camera moves off a shot of Lola’s mother to dolly in on the TV.
As Lola runs to meet her boyfriend, she inevitably bumps into a few people along the way. Each person she bumps into has his or her life shown in a series of Polaroid’s appearing in front of the camera in succession. Each time Lola encounters these people on her three separate attempts to meet her boyfriend, the events depicted within the Polaroid’s change for the better. This was such a quick and clever way to add in mini subplots to help strengthen the story as well as show the audience that throughout the course of Lola’s journey to find the right way to save her boyfriend, she is undoubtedly getting closer to a working solution as shown by the increased positive nature of the lives lived by the people in the Polaroid’s.
I found it interesting how Tykwer linked each of Lola’s trips to catch her boyfriend. Inevitably at the end of the first two trips, Lola fails and either her or her boyfriend end up being killed. As they lie there dieing they think back to previous events where they were both together discussing something important. After the flashback ends, the character is seen laying there dieing and then there is a cut to the beginning of the film again where Lola is leaving her house to meet her boyfriend. This flashback sequence combined with the cut to the beginning shows that these characters can alter their own destiny. They can get as many chances as they want to make things work because they are the masters of their lives. I think that is the message this film is trying to convey. First of all I think it is trying to say anything is possible, if you just put your mind to it. Lola succeeding in getting the money legally and saving her boyfriend shows this. The film is also trying to say that one, we are in control of our destiny’s and two, events in our life occur due to a complex set of actions that must happen in order for things to go smoothly. If just one thing is changed, events could totally change thus affecting your life in ways you never foresaw. In short, Tykwer is exploring the butterfly effect.
Overall, I’d have to say this film is easily one of the best film’s I have ever seen. Its story and messages combined with its cinematography and musical score makes for one exciting 80-minute ride.