Product: Run, Lola, Run [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Run Lola Run a Review by A.McBride
Run Lola Run A Review by Ashley McBrideIn this film, Lola is a very un-stereotypical heroine who undergoes three nearly identical episodes in which to save her lover Manny from his mob boss.The character of Lola critiques the Hollywood mainstream heroine in many ways. She is not a contrived Hollywood beauty. She has bright orange/red hair and punk clothing which offer a disassociative affect for the viewer, allowing them to critique the mainstream heroine and the priorities of Hollywood to alter her into a commodity rather than a true hero. She also has superhuman ability, first to alter outcomes (chaos theory) and second, to see into the future (snapshots). This also offers the viewer a chance to disassociate with her because she is unlike the viewer; though she seems real, is she? She is saving he. This is a main point because this allows the viewer to critique the "damsel in distress" role that females normally play. Lola takes control. This is prevalent especially when the exact translation of the German title is given "Lola Runs." This title more accurately portrays Lola in control-a genuine hero who is motivated to succeed so much so that she risks her life in three episodes/ tries. Lola remains a hero the whole way through the film, unlike most mainstream Hollywood heroines. Though she is unable to help Manny (because he ends up helping himself) she still gets there on time with the money retrieved (in a legitimate manner) in the last episode. She tried, tried again, and then succeeded-which makes her the hero of the story.The cinematic effects of camera angle, cartooning, and electronic weaving all serve to disassociate the viewer from the film, in order to step back and critique it. This film is fun because it challenges society to co-produce instead of just take in a film.Lola is objectified throughout the film, but not in a Hollywood manner. She is usually shown as an entire woman-not as fragments of one (Lola is not a breast, a leg, etc.). Lola is the object of the panoptical gaze, but is unaffected in her cause. She runs not because she is told to and is being watched to ensure that she does, but runs because she wills herself to do so, and takes no care in anyone watching. This is proven when she robs a bank (laws do not matter) and goes into the casino with casual clothes (appearances do not matter). Thus Lola breaks the objectification by the panopticon set by institutions because she could care less that they exist. Even when her father tells her she does not look good she is unaffected in her cause and ignores the comment. This is just another way Lola as a hero breaks Hollywood mainstream heroines who care very much in rules and appearances and therefore are affected by the way in which they are being watched.Lola Runs!