Run Lola Run Analysis

Christian Dold
8 June 2015
Free Will and Determinism in Run Lola Run Perhaps one of the most pressing questions that philosophers have attempted to answer throughout the years is the debate between human free will and determinism. Free will is the idea that human action is unhindered by fate, and that the actions we take are directly responsible for our future. Conversely, determinism argues the opposite of this, that our actions are not free but are merely a result of preceding events. The film Run Lola Run attempts to explore these competing schools of logic by arguing that there are certain things humans can control and certain things humans cannot control. Through the film’s advocating of determinism, it makes the argument that one of
While we as humans like to think that are actions are solely that of our own, and are free from outside influence, many aspects of the film show us that in Lola’s world, this is far from the case. Perhaps the best example of this is the use of cut scenes by Tom Tykwer, the film’s director. Throughout the course of all three runs, we are shown how small actions taken by Lola and Manni have a drastic effect on the future of those around them. This is more commonly known as the butterfly effect. For example in all three runs, Lola encounters a woman who she either bumps into or nearly misses, and the variations in her actions have wildly different impacts on her future. In the first encounter, the woman’s future is filled with poverty, in the second, she wins the lottery and becomes rich, and in the third and final encounter she becomes religious. The use of these cut scenes throughout the course of the film leaves no doubt in the mind of the audience that the film is advocating a position of
In his writing, Sartre makes the famous claim that “existence precedes essence” (13). There are many different applications of this quote, however for our purposes in relation to free will, it is saying that human beings have the power to make their own choices because there is no inherent quality that humans possess hindering us from doing so. Run Lola Run would disagree with this interpretation of human freedom. While it is easy to agree with the concept of free will because it is hard to cope with the idea that our actions are heavily influenced by other events, we must try to weigh both options objectively. In the film, small differences in the actions that Lola takes cause many peoples lives to take drastically different turns. It is incorrect to view Lola’s actions as merely a catalyst to the change in these peoples’ lives because regardless of the action she takes, it will affect all the future actions of the people around her whether they like it or not. Overall, in the context of the film, it is impossible to apply Sartre’s ideas because of the numerous times in the film that determinism reigns supreme over free