Frame analysis of “Run Lola Run”

I chose this frame to analyze because Lola has screamed and broken glass at least twice before this in the film and therefore the repetition signifies that it is a seemingly important pattern. I also was not expecting her to scream like that in the middle of a fancy casino. It surprises the audience just like it surprises the people who are in the casino.

My eye is instantly drawn to her: her red hair is pretty much in the middle of the frame and it frames her face as well. This draws our attention to her facial expression. Her eyes are focused, mouth open because she is screaming, and she’s bent over so we can’t actually see all of her face. Next I noticed how tense her body is. She is squeezing her hands together into fists and her arm muscles are tense. This physical anxiety that is shown is a reflection upon how Lola feels on the inside. Her scream can be viewed as a release of that tension.

The coloring in the scene is dark except for Lola. She is the most color that is in stark contrast to the rest of the frame. She has bright red hair, blue shirt, and green pants compared to the black and brown three piece suit humans that make up the rest of the frame. This defines Lola’s character compared to the others. She is vibrant and unconventional.

Moving our attention away from Lola, we can see that there are many people in the room with her- all nicely dressed and reacting to her outburst. Most of them are covering their ears and do not like her screaming. This makes a divide between the general people and Lola. It makes us question who we are focusing on and wonder who we should be looking at.

The light is coming from up above and highlights the space where people aren’t (the stairs, the wood pillars, the empty floor space) as well as Lola. I get the feeling this acts as a tame spotlight so that the audience is focused on her.