Before the Fall (2008)
A meteorite will destroy the world in three days. For Ale, that means 72 hours of alone time, getting as drunk as possible. But when a mysterious drifter appears, the self-serving Ale faces a more immediate danger. Now, he finds himself protecting his mother and his brother's children from his fellow man in humanity's final hours. Daniel Casadella co-stars in this thought-provoking drama.
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Good start, but then it gets ruined
Charming and brutal
A different way of telling a story
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
An ambitious, suspenseful, taut, apocalyptic/thriller that was quite an refreshing take on the genre. The performances were all strong and the story ingenious which will keep you on the edge of your seat especially towards the end and the effects and filming were subtle but haunting, so if you were thinking it was going to be an action packed disaster flick think again because it's deeper and darker than that. The pace could of been a little faster but I like how it had a nice little build up to the shocking, haunting and sad end. Overall I really appreciated this little gem that has a great story and plot behind it that has a lot of potential of being a great remake because it could be improved upon. Recommended even though it's quite depressing but what a movie! More of a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I personally cherish a vast fascination for apocalyptic-themed Sci-Fi & horror movies and have seen a truckload of titles in this style, but I can honestly state I have never seen anything quite like Javier Guttierez' "Before the Fall". It's one of the most emotionally unsettling, uniquely structured, unpretentiously honest and hauntingly beautiful movies I've ever seen in my life. "Before the Fall" isn't just a movie about an all-devastating meteorite; this is a movie about choices, personal sacrifices, unconditional devotion, persistence and even a tiny sparkle of hope. The vast majority of "the-end-is-near" movies deal with trying to find a method to prevent the apocalypse from happening and/or focus on a small group of people as they are preparing a new beginning for after the complete destruction. Guttierez' film – deeply impressive for a long feature debut – makes it pretty clear and irrefutable that there isn't any chance left of avoiding or surviving the Armageddon. The fade has been determined and everyone's doomed, but this magnificent parable handles about HOW to spend those precious last numbered days. This concept is utmost simplistic and straightforward but actually I haven't seen it in any other movie ever before, so even that "Before the Fall" is similar to a whole list of movies, it constantly feels original and courageous. The governments of all nations in the world one morning announce that a large meteorite will inevitably collide with earth in three days. They knew it longer already, but waited with the announcement in order to avoid anarchy, mass-hysteria and chaos as much as possible. That quickly turns out a wise decision, as anarchy, mass-hysteria and chaos are the only things ensuing after the announcement. The plot follows Ale, a small town carpenter who still lives with his mother and is generally regarded as a lazy and non-ambitious lowlife. Ale always lived in the shadows of his older brother Thomas, who became an immortal hero after helping to capture a notorious child murderer 15 years ago. Thomas is now successful, married and the father of four children. Immediately after the announcement of the upcoming apocalypse, riots in prison cause all criminals to escape, including the child murderer. Ale's mother is convinced the killer wants revenge against Thomas, but since he and his wife are abroad, she begs Ale to accompany her and protect the children. Ale is reluctant to spend existence's final three days babysitting, but gradually changes his mind as he notices the threat of the child killer is for real and because his nieces and nephews are still unaware of the imminent apocalypse. "Before the Fall" unfolds as a tragic drama, then converts into a highly exciting action-thriller and then eventually converts back into a tragic drama. Throughout the entire middle section, when Ale is trying to safeguard the children from a potential serial killer, the suspense and ambiance are so intense that you almost forget the Armageddon is approaching as well. Ale fights a battle to protect the kids and survive himself as well only to die all together a couple of days later. As a viewer you constantly know this, but still you support and hope for Ale and the kids to remain alive as long as possible and even longer. "Before the Fall" is an enchanting, beautiful and thought-provoking movie with stupendous acting performances, chilling music and breath-taking filming locations. Careful sensitive viewers, as the movie also contains a handful of confronting bits of harsh violence, graphic bloodshed and nihilistic carnage. Easily the most overwhelming and dazzlingly brilliant movie I've seen in the past years; nothing short of a masterpiece.
The acting was good. The movie was well made. But the characters didn't make sense. The plot was unrealistic. I realize movies don't have to be realistic, but this type of movie should be. What type of movie was it? A bad one. The type that keeps showing promise, only to let down.At some point, you tell the children that the world is ending. I would tell them immediately, but maybe you can justify not telling them because they are innocent. When smoke is coming up from the town, you are forced to tell them--unless the only child that notices is the youngest. When the stranger who smiles at you when you point a gun at him shows up, then for the love of God, you tell them.At some point, the audience should maybe start liking a character. Instead, I found myself rooting for the asteroid. But even the asteroid let me down. I've seen more exciting asteroid apocalypse on public television.And by the way, when there are basically no consequences for your actions (one of the cool things about the end of the world), your guarding a bunch of helpless children from a known psycho, and a very suspicious stranger shows up when you are out in the middle of no where, you take him away from the house and you shoot him and then you shoot him again.And here's a memo to Spain, the 1900's called: they want their rock salt back.
I had a chance to see Javier Gutierrez's movie "Tres Dias" in a screening in Tarragona, Spain tonight...The movie first shows a tendency to reflect the reaction of the small town to the news of the apocalypse and does it in a rather elegant way...However, on the ride changes the course of the story in a more thriller aspect...Some people may call this inconsistency but the movie later reveals the reason of this choice...A warning about expectations on this movie...This is not an ind-apocalyptic movie but rather the portrait of a family on the verge of destruction...To avoid giving a spoiler, I would just say that, try to watch the movie in the way it is intended to be, not the way you expect it to be....Victor Clavijo and Mariana Cordero have astonishing performances and the photography has a characteristic side to it...You can actually feel the hot dusty landscape right in front of you...This indicates a certain talent... The movie has a lot to offer and maybe it does fail you in small segments but the whole picture is pretty nice to look at and keeps you going until the end.....