The Fall (2008)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Maybe the most endearing thing about this whole film is the disturbed and comical dialogue between the little girl and the hurt stunt-man. But that's not where the film ends, by a long shot. Costuming, locations, superb acting, pathos, and a historical setting all combine seamlessly to give us a classic feel reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz or The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen or, better yet, The Princess Bride. And the scene with the Eucharist is worth time spent with the whole film! There is some violence, but it is muted and made fantastic.

An injured stuntman (Lee Pace, "Guardians of the Galaxy") and a young orange-picker girl (the uber talented - Catinca Untaru) - both "fell and fractured" - strike a chance friendship in their hospital. Roy begins telling her a story of romance, bandits, adventure with Charles Darwin, a Pyrotechnic, an Indian Warrior, a Free-Slave as their peers. The epic-plot flushed out of Roy's own remorse and heartbreak, ironically set in the magnificent palaces of India, though, it is with little Alexandria's potent and pure imagination we all see a world beyond the helpless shortsightedness. To have fallen is human, but to have risen must feel divine.It's surprising to have found "hope" in the most unlikely of places; but, that becomes "soul enriching" to have attained so from a child's vision.A moving, heartfelt account of fantasy-drama, which couldn't have been summarised any better by Alain de Botton... 'The moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be.' ... so, indeed.Outstanding!

"The Fall", Director's Tarsem Singh second feature has become a metaphor for shattering artists. A man played Lee Pace sit on a bed in sickbay of Los Angeles around year 1913. He gets encountered by a 10-year-old girl to whom he tells a fantastic story of a stranded group of diversity of man. In the parallel universe, they swim with elephant in the open sea and embark on an adventure to rescue a brother. Instead the narrator's alter-ego finds a princess, which breaks his heart.I have seen some thousands films in my time, but nothing compares to "The Fall" in which a Director purrs out his heart towards a lost love by utilizing every cell in his power to use the medium film to get over his real-life pain. Every frame of the mainly fixed camera spreads the Director's emotions over the canvas. The wish of being an Innocent girl, who has never felt loss in her life-span. And the suicidal father, who needs to ask three times in certain moments to get his message across to the girl, while the cinematography shows me nothing but two actors not connecting to each other.So magnificent some shots are in their splendor of design, color and environmental setting, I can only convince myself that Director Tarsem Singh at time of making this movie still processing his former boldness with from his 2000er debut and looking somehow forgiveness for the created nightmare in "The Cell". Nevertheless it is an extraordinary personalized effort of a director, who is seeking for a streamlining picture as whole piece of art. In "The Fall" transition shot problem occur, when the door to a fortress kicks open as homage to John Ford's unrivaled shot in 1956er "The Searchers", only masterful second by Martin Scrosese in 2002er "Gangs of New York".So what is left of highly conceptual-designed picture, which celebrates itself as the director's public therapy session, the emptiness of parting cast and crew to chase the next project, which has been regrettable became 2011er "Immortals", where the sensitive director has not been given the chance to explore his fear of been robbed of vision and eventually experiencing further growth as an artist, which feels to be one of the most promising production designer in recent movie history.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend

Tarsem Singh is the kind of film director most moviegoers label as off-putting because of his emphasis of image before plot. I would agree with this argument, and I would back it up completely with the haste of an objective, logical movie critic. But, that's not my style. I go with how the movie makes a logical or illogical impact, and if the "how" is fascinating, then I am fascinated.The Fall is an original film because it does what most filmmakers yearn to do: it creates images and visionary landscapes only our imaginations can produce. A year ago, I mentioned the same traits seen in Pan's Labyrinth. This time, Tarsem's vision overtakes the plot, and as risky as that may be, its pictorial energy wins you over.Around the 1920s, we find ourselves in a hospital in the desert outskirts of Los Angeles. An injured movie stuntman, Roy (Pace), is visited by Alexandria (Untaru), who has a broken arm and an eager imagination. To keep each other company, Roy tells a story about five mythical heroes who have one thing in common: they all want to seek revenge upon Odious, the evil dictator who took a particular piece of freedom away from each man. Roy is the storyteller, Alexandria is the story visionary, and we see everything she sees. Eventually, Roy's fictional story parallels with his real life, and Alexandria interprets both.We have two worlds working here: one between two unlikely friends and the other created by the co-existent imaginations of the two. As the little girl, Untaru's performance, is unfeigned, natural, and endearing.This is certainly the movie to leave you speechless.