The multi-linear narrative structure of "Run Lola Run" challenges the idea that a situation can be resolved in only one way. This essay will discuss how relationships between cause and effect contribute to the film's multi-linear narrative. The term "multi-linear narrative " refers to a story which is capable of branching off into different directions depending on the choices of the viewer or the development of events, dictated by set parameters within the media. This can include the possibility of the story looping back on earlier sections, and is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory (Askham). Interactive games generally take the form of multi-linear narratives, which is why.
"Run Lola Run" has been compared to a video game. Cause and effect, or causality, is one of the central motifs of the film, and refers to the relationship between two events, wherein the second event is a consequence of the first (Askham).
"Run Lola Run" is a German thriller that follows a young woman who needs to obtain 100,000 deutschmarks in 20 minutes, to save her boyfriend's life. The film offers three alternate possibilities as to how Lola tries to resolve the crisis. In each scenario, she encounters the same people along the way. Because her timing varies, however, their futures, and hers, differ dramatically. This essay will examine the resolution of a narrative crisis within the context of a non-linear structure, contrasting themes of causality, trial by error, and free will vs. determinism; as well as comparing the open-world sandbox depicted in Run Lola Run to an interactive video game. "Run Lola Run" starts off with a very simple premise. Lola gets off the phone with Manni and sets about trying to find 100,000 marks. We follow her to the supermarket, where she meets Manni, and although she has not been able to get the money from her father, we expect her and Manni to succeed.
