Distinctive Visuals in Run Lola Run

A composer can create images dependant on the form of the language of texts to shape a responders understanding of the ideas and themes prompted by people and their experiences. The German film, ‘Run Lola Run’ written and directed by Tom Tykwer, focuses on the experiences of the protagonist Lola to explore the themes of the inevitable force of time, and the issue of freewill verses determinism. Similarly, Dorothea Mackellar, in her poem ‘My Country’, relies on her experiences of the Australian landscape to convey her love and passion for the country using the language of the distinctive visual.

The distinctively visual techniques employed by Tykwer in Run Lola Run, function to raise the importance of time, its inevitability, and intrinsic power over the events in our lives. The premise of the film is based upon the small amount of time Lola has to find 100, 000 marks. Often portrayed ticking slowly towards twelve noon, clocks are a recurring motif reminding the responder of Lola’s race against time. This continual visual reference to clocks is therefore augmented by their ticking sound, sometimes combined with the sound of a beating heart, strengthening the force of time. The opening sequence features a talisman symbolic of a grandfather’s clock to reinforce the significance of time. Tykwer uses a close-up low angle shot of the talisman to portray a submissive view of time, emphasising its importance and reminding the audience of Lola’s journey to overcome it. Animation techniques manipulate the face of the clock, morphing it into a creature that opens its mouth and appears to swallow Lola, indicating how time consumes us. Throughout the opening credits, an animated Lola portrayed running towards a clock highlights the importa...

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...etaphor, “Is running in your veins” like blood, recognises the country as an integral part of life. Furthermore, rhythm created by the omission of commas in “sapphire misted mountains” combined with the rhyme scheme of the makes the tribute more powerful. Consequently the language techniques employed by Mackellar, reinforce her passion of Australia whilst also embracing the audience in an evocative image of her personal experience.

Therefore, the distinctive visual techniques employed by the composer provide a vehicle for the respondent to understand the ideas and themes prompted by people and their experiences. Tykwer’s film, Run Lola Run demonstrates the effect of the distinctive visual in Lola’s exploration of the themes of chance and time, whilst Mackellar’s poem ‘My Country’ provides the audience with an evocative experience of the Australian environment.