Movie Review On Success Is Always An Option In Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run

On trying to teach children what constitutes success, one would most certainly accentuate the notion of working hard, never giving up, fighting for what one believes in and desires for himself. However, Tom Tykwer’s Run Lola Run goes beyond this simple notion of working hard and one will get what one wants, no matter what. By allowing the movie-goers the privilege to see three different outcomes in his narrative structure, with different causes and thus, different consequences, and revealing a highly intense mise-en-scene relating characters to colors, he introduces the questions of whether a human being can really achieve what he wants, in this case the retrieval of a bag with 100,000 Deutschemarks, when chance interferes in human destinies; whether free will can be victorious over determinism, and finally, whether a desired future can be a potentiality or not. Thus, this movie touches upon the topic of success from the standpoint of human comprehension, that there exist more factors, such as chance and unforeseen obstacles that influence the choices people make, that the eventual outcomes do change depending on these very choices, and finally, that success is always an option.
In the movie, the topic of success is defined in a pretty straightforward manner: Lola’s boyfriend Manni, has 20 minutes to either find the money he lost, belonging to a crime boss who will be far from pleased on hearing these news, or get another 100,000 Deutschemarks, which is exactly why he is calling Lola, begging her to get him out of this problem. Manni is aware of what will happen to him if he does not manage to get the money back, thus, evoking the image of failure being equaled with pain and death. It is a well-known fact that crime bosses do not take kindly to people stealing from them, which is exactly what Manni will be accused of. The story of him forgetting the money on a train sounds so utterly ridiculous that it is highly doubtful the people whose money it actually was will believe him. He does not know what to do, and as most people in desperation do, he turns to his loved one, Lola.
The mise-en scene of the entire movie is the two of them talking over the phone. Right from the very start, Lola becomes a vision in red: her hair is fiery red, there are red candles in her room, she is using a red phone and has red posters. The color red has numerous connotations. It represents powerful emotions, energy, speed (which becomes obvious in the very title), danger, passion and strength, and Lola is in possession of all of these traits. She loves Manni and would do anything to help him, her speed is essential as Manni has only 20 minutes left, she is powerful and strong, which is why he contacts her immediately, and she does not refrain from danger in an effort to save the one she loves.
On the other hand, Manni is symbolic of the color yellow, as he is speaking from a yellow phone booth and has yellow highlights in his hair. Unlike red, this color has several negative connotations, such as hazard, dishonesty, cowardice and deceit, though there are some positive ones, too, such as joy, happiness and optimism that Lola would be able to help him no matter what. The fact that he has business with a crime boss and instead of solving his own problems, turns to Lola immediately, might make him appear to be a shady character, although he does not come out as the bad guy in the story. On the contrary, the fairy tale tables are turned, he is the damsel in distress who has made a terrible mistake and will never do such a thing again, if only he can be saved this one time, and there comes the knight in shining armor, Lola, to the rescue.
The fact that he is speaking from a phone booth only accentuates the tightness of his situation, as other people pass him by, without the slightest notion of his troubles. For them, it is just another ordinary day, while for Manny, it could be his last. Thus, the realism and an almost tangibly ordinary quality of this mise-en-scene serves to create a more profound connection between the viewers and the characters, and to make them more sympathetic to the tragically unlucky Manny and his guardian angel, Lola, for whom success is getting the money for Manny so that nothing bad happens to him.
In addition, tt is interesting to note that the first two “runs” end in deaths, first Lola’s then Manny’s, which would happen to Manny either way if he did not come up with the money. However, when Lola finally seems to capture that one split second that she was missing in the previous two “runs,” the results are astounding. So far, the viewers have witnessed acts of free will limited by unforeseen obstacles, as she changes their fates with her conscious and subconscious choices, leading one to conclude that no matter what she does, one death is required, it was merely a question of who it would be. However, the casino scene appears to be the culmination of this introspection of chance and conscious choices, as Lola takes matters into her own hands, completely out of any other ideas, and forces success by sheer will power, as she makes the roulette ball stop on the number she chose by screaming violently, shattering glass along the process. It is this willing act of vocal expression that wins her the money, more than she really needs, and as a result, the movie appears to be sympathetic to the notion of free will and that if one really does set one’s mind on something, he can achieve it, as he is the maker of his own fortune.
Consequently, the notion of success is portrayed through the struggles of two main characters to help each other get out of a dangerous predicament and for neither of them, failure is an option. Like for real people, success is a string of choices and the goal of a potential consequence. Their willing choices put them in the situation they find themselves in, which leads to the conclusion that not only success, but life is general is a multifaceted mixture of personal choices, (unforeseen) circumstances, chance or luck and finally, timing. As such, life is of a capricious nature, and people everywhere are intertwined by their own, as well as by the actions of others. However, when all these notions come into place, and when a person is as brave and as determined as Lola, and screams out loud what she wants, success is bound to follow.