Runaway (2010 film)

The film opens with Griffin (West) running down a road in a forest with his shirt unbuttoned, with "Lacrimosa" by Mozart playing in the background.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650692/20101023/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026211605/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650692/20101023/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2010|title=Kanye West's 'Runaway' Film Premieres|date=October 23, 2010|first=Mawuse|last=Ziegbe|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}} This is followed with a narration by Martha Zolanski; one of Nicki Minaj's alter egos. Griffin is then shown driving his MTX Tatra V8 through the forest with "Dark Fantasy" playing in the background. A phoenix (Ebanks), appearing as half-woman and half-phoenix, crashes down to Earth as a meteorite and Griffin crashes his MTX Tatra V8 in the forest. This scene, according to GQ, echoes West's car accident that was the inspiration for "Through the Wire".{{Cite web|url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-10/11/gq-music-kanye-west-runaway-review/runaway-plot-details|title=100 things Kanye taught GQ: Everything that happens in Runaway|date=October 12, 2010|first=Andy|last=Morris|work=GQ|publisher=Condé Nast Publications|access-date=October 23, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018055237/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-10/11/gq-music-kanye-west-runaway-review/runaway-plot-details|archive-date=October 18, 2010|df=mdy-all}} While the car explodes in the background, Griffin carries the phoenix in his arms and brings her home.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649493/20101007/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009205418/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649493/20101007/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 9, 2010|title=Kanye West Screens 'Runaway' In London|date=October 7, 2010|first=Gil|last=Kaufman|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}} As "Gorgeous" plays, the phoenix comes into contact with objects from the human world, including a news display on a flat-screen television (which shows a news broadcast in the English and Czech language) and a porcelain teacup. After she dances to a remix of "Power" that Griffin plays on an MPC2000XL, he takes her to see different sights, including a carnival with a papier-mâché bust of Michael Jackson, a marching band, and fireworks in the desert. "All of the Lights" is heard during this sequence. Griffin falls in love with the phoenix and they attend a formal dinner party, during which "Devil in a New Dress" is heard. The disgusted guests appear to exchange negative comments about the phoenix.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649516/20101007/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009193441/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649516/20101007/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 9, 2010|title=Kanye West's 'Runaway' London Screening Was A 'Mad Event'|date=October 7, 2010|first1=Gil|last1=Kaufman|first2=Tom|last2=Thorogood|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}} The party-goers are dressed in white, with the exception of Griffin and the exotic Phoenix, who stands out as both worldly and other-worldly, by comparison to the other guests. Biblical imagery gives the setting a church-like quality. The first course is bread and a pink beverage served in wine glasses, suggesting Holy Communion. Later, "loaves and fishes" are on the menu.

An upset Griffin responds with a performance of "Runaway", backed by an interpretive dance sequence with ballerinas in black tutus, followed by a slow-motion sequence where lead dancers perform solos to an Auto-Tuned continuation of the song. The diners toast to the lyrics saluting the "douche bags" and applaud Griffin's performance. The dinner ends when the phoenix, horrified, screams in anguish at the revelation that the main dish is a large turkey, driving the guests away from the table. The beginning of "Hell of a Life", is played during this scene. In the DVD version, "Monster" is heard. It then cuts to a scene of the phoenix sitting in Griffin's garden whilst a dark cloud overwhelms the sky; accompanied by "Blame Game". The couple is seen sitting outside under the stars (in a scene reminiscent of Jackson's Moonwalker) where they chat about the creation of sculptures. The phoenix claims they are phoenixes that have been turned to stone by society. She comments on the repressive nature of his world, declaring, "Do you know what I hate most about your world? Anything that is different you try to change."{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/09/fug_girls_kanye_west_puts_his.html|title=Kanye West Puts His Ego in Check at Rodarte|publisher=NY Mag|date=September 14, 2010|access-date=September 16, 2010}} She then tells him she must burst into flames to avoid this fate, and thus, return to her world. Griffin, however, cannot accept this and they make love to "Lost in the World" (featuring Bon Iver). He wakes up the next morning on his apartment roof, with the phoenix nowhere to be found, and is eventually revealed that it is now flying across the sky to fulfill her fate, being adorned in a golden chest plate. The film ends with Griffin desperately running through the forest, presumably in an (ultimately futile) attempt to find her and stop her, while the phoenix contemplates this, notably sad, and continues on her flight.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650646/20101022/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024030025/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650646/20101022/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 24, 2010|title=Kanye West Calls Bon Iver Track 'Crescendo' For 'Runaway' Film|date=October 22, 2010|first=Jayson|last=Rodriguez|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}}

Runaway was filmed in Prague over a period of four days in the summer of 2010.{{cite magazine|last=Concepcion|first=Mariel|title=Kanye West Premieres 35-Minute-Long 'Runaway' Video In London|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/954875/kanye-west-premieres-35-minute-long-runaway-video-in-london|date=October 7, 2010|magazine=Billboard.com|access-date=October 8, 2010}} The script was written by Hype Williams, while the story was written by West. Vanessa Beecroft served as the art director with Jonathan Lia producing; also with Creative Consultants Virgil Abloh, Alexandre Moors, and Jason Last. Yemi A.D. was responsible for the choreographical element of the ballet dancers in the Runaway song sequence. West describes the video as an "overall representation of what [he dreams]" and a parallel to his music career.{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650696/20101023/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025010449/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650696/20101023/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2010|title=Kanye West Calls 'Runaway' A Reflection Of His Entire Life|date=October 23, 2010|first1=Mawuse|last1=Ziegbe| first2=Sway|last2=Calloway|publisher=MTV News. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}} Speaking to MTV News, West said he wanted women in his life, including his mother and ex-girlfriends, represented in the video and for them to "connect with the different emotions". According to model Selita Ebanks, who co-stars in the video, the moral is "the world doesn't accept, or they try to change, what is different, instead of trying to understand it".{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/10/vulture_talks_to_selita_ebanks.html|title=Vulture Talks to Selita Ebanks, the Star of Kanye's Movie|date=October 19, 2010|first=Amos|last=Barshad|work=New York|publisher=New York Media Holdings|access-date=October 23, 2010}}

Kyle Kibbe was the cinematographer, he explained that West was looking to adopt a flexible approach. "Kanye wanted a lot of flexibility in terms of being able to go to these locations and be open to whatever creative impulses took place,". The camera used for filming was the Arri Alexa.{{cite web |title=ALEXA shines on Kanye West's 'Runaway' |url=https://www.arri.com/news/news/alexa-shines-on-kanye-wests-runaway/|website=ARRI |access-date=30 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528005400/https://www.arri.com/news/news/alexa-shines-on-kanye-wests-runaway/ |archive-date=28 May 2018 |url-status=dead}}

The teaser trailer for the film debuted during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards{{cite web|url=http://kanyewest.com/GOODFridays|title=Kanye West|publisher=kanyewest.com|date=September 12, 2010|access-date=September 16, 2010}} and the full video was screened in Paris on October 5 and at the BAFTA on October 6. The video debuted on October 23, 2010 on Vevo, MTV, MTV2, YTV, BET, and VH1.com.{{Cite web|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/10/23/kane-west-runaway-debut-mtv-mtv-2-mtvcom/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025010307/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/10/23/kane-west-runaway-debut-mtv-mtv-2-mtvcom/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2010|title=Kane West's Movie 'Runaway' To Debut On MTV, MTV 2 And MTV.com Saturday Night|date=October 23, 2010|first=Tom|last=DiChiara|publisher=MTV. MTV Networks|access-date=October 23, 2010}} The film debuted on YouTube two days later.

The music video was praised by Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s Ken Tucker, calling it "a carefully modulated art-film made by a man on a mission", noting the usage of dominant colors as well as the imagery in the film. Jozen Cummings of The Wall Street Journal described the video as "a cross between an epic music video and a charming indie-house flick", stating that the greatest achievement of the video was how it "brought West's music to life".{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/10/22/kanye-wests-runaway-film-an-early-look/|title=Kanye West's 'Runaway' Film: An Early Look|date=October 22, 2010|first=Jozen|last=Cummings|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=News Corporation|access-date=October 25, 2010}} Will Dean of The Guardian called the video as a creative promotional tool, praising the video's scope and creativity, noting that it was "ridiculous, ostentatious and egotistical", citing that it fit perfectly into West's aesthetic.Dean, Will(October 25, 2010). [https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/oct/25/kanye-west-runaway Kanye West's Runaway: Purple Rain or bird brains?]. The Guardian. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.

Nicole Jones of MTV Buzzworthy stated that the majority of the video was nonsensical and added up to little coherently, but wrote that regardless of its true meaning, the video was "really pretty to watch, the music is great, and it reminds us once again why there is only one Mr. West.”{{Cite web|author=Jones, Nicole|url=http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2010/10/25/kanye-west-runaway-movie/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026215026/http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2010/10/25/kanye-west-runaway-movie/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2010|title=Watch Kanye West's Provocative Short Film, 'Runaway'|date=October 25, 2010|publisher=MTV. Viacom|access-date=October 23, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.urb.com/2010/11/23/kanye-west-my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy|title=URB.COM|publisher=Urb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129050221/http://urb.com/2010/11/23/kanye-west-my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy/|archive-date=November 29, 2010}} Claire Suddath of Time listed the video amongst the best of all time.{{cite magazine |last=Suddath |first=Claire |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/07/28/the-30-all-time-best-music-videos/slide/kanye-west-runaway-2010/ |magazine=Time | title=The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos - Kanye West, ‘Runaway’ (2010) | date=July 26, 2011 |access-date=October 19, 2024}}

The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the BET Awards 2011, and West was nominated for Director of the Year.{{cite web|url=http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards/2011/nominees/video-of-the-year.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521185545/http://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards/2011/nominees/video-of-the-year.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 21, 2011 |title=Video of the Year |publisher=BET |access-date=November 21, 2011}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

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Category:2010 films

Category:2010 musical films

Category:Films directed by Kanye West

Category:2010s musical drama films

Category:American short films

Category:Visual albums

Category:2010 short films

Category:Films shot in Prague

Category:Cultural depictions of Michael Jackson

Category:2010 drama films

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:Films about phoenixes

Category:English-language drama short films

Category:English-language musical drama films