The Fall

This is such a beautiful film it deserves a 4k upgrade or at least a blu-ray rerelease as a double feature with The Cell! Somebody make it happen!

I came across this totally by accident -- I'd never heard a thing about it. But I like Tarsem Singh's work, and I loved Lee Pace on "Pushing Daisies," so gave it a shot.I was really glad I did. This is a beautiful and really unique film -- in a nutshell, a stunt man telling a fantastical tale to a little girl in a hospital -- but it's so much more. But you can discover the story for yourself -- I won't spoil it.Meanwhile, "The Fall" is a strange and lovely little story -- a fairytale, but with a dash of bittersweetness to it that makes the characters feel more real, and the action more fraught with tension. The visuals are absolutely stunning, and the performances are flawless. The little girl as played by Catinca Untaru is fantastic -- one of the best child performances I've ever seen. The sets and especially the costumes (by the late, great Eiko Ishioka) are incredibly beautiful.And Lee Pace, well, after seeing this movie, why this guy isn't a bigger star is totally beyond me. He's an old-fashioned movie-star in this, and carries the whole film effortlessly, bringing charisma, poetry and darkness in equal measure to a grieving man who nevertheless takes a kind interest in a lonely little girl. (And side note: Thank goodness there's never a hint of creepiness to their friendship -- we really do feel a deep bond between the two that is very much parent-child.)As far as the film's rating and viewability -- I'd say it's okay for older kids, but it's definitely too intense for little ones -- there's some violence as well as some pretty wrenching emotional violence.If you like movies with a hint of fantasy or folklore, you'll love "The Fall." I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loved "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Princess Bride," or any great fantasy films, from the LOTR series to Narnia. It also has that slight edge and unpredictability to it, that might make "The Fall" worthwhile for those of you who like films that are a little off the beaten path, from David Lynch to Cronenberg.I found myself thinking about this movie a lot afterward. It's a really unusual, richly rewarding film.

i don't know many people who've seen this movie but i personally love it. Adore it. Tell all my friends about it. Because it's one of my favorite movies of all time.Basic Idea: A boy tells a little girl a fairy tale of true love, pirates, mystics and Charles Darwin (disclaimer: he stole all his ideas from his pet monkey). There's also swimming elephants.Mood: Dark, depressing.Less Basic Idea: A hospital in the 20s. A young Mexican girl with not such great English is staying in the hospital a couple of days. Not sure why - she only has a broken arm. She runs into a stunt man who's lost his legs in a stunt gone bad. He's also lost his girlfriend to the movie star he did stunts for. After all, he's famous and can walk. He decides to tell her a story. A super interesting story. But only if she steals drugs from the other patients. Lots of drugs - you can't kill yourself with just a couple of pills. And so goes the movie - he tells her bits of story in exchange for pills. She's sweet and innocent and kind of stupid and doesn't know she's being manipulated by a desperate, suicidal, heart-broken liar.The story he tells is a silly and childish and over the top and filled with fantastic heroes and evil villains. i've seen other reviewers claim the movie is nothing more than eye candy. Which makes sense - the movie is gorgeous. But even if it were on a BBC budget it would be a great story.The other half of the movie is the relationship between the manipulative stunt man and the kinda dumb little kid. And that's more heart breaking than the fantasy story.SPOILER: i know this matters to a few people so let me say this - the movie is emotional and gut wrenching but it does, eventually, have a happy ending (kind of; it's a realistic ending with no miracle cures). You have to get through some catharsis to get there but it's not a movie that will leave you depressed for the rest of the day.

Bella película, maravilloso arte y fotografía, vale la pena verla una y otra vez! Las locaciones son hermosas y la química entre Lee Pace y la niña Catinca es simplemente adorable. La recomiendo mucho, aunque no tiene subtítulos en español.

撮影事故で半身不随になったスタントマンの語るおとぎ話は、5歳の少女の心で真実になって・・。構想２６年、撮影4年。世界中をロケハンティングし、イメージを広げ、紡ぎあげ、役者を選び、命を吹き込んだ作品のビジュアルを強くイメージ付けているのは石岡瑛子のコスチューム。コスチュームが空間を膨らませ、空気を切り裂き、ストーリーさえ運びます。映像となったコスチュームからまず感じたのは、人の身体の美しさでした。映像の美しさ、サスペンス、行きつく暇もありません。何度でも新鮮に見続けられる映画です。

This is one of those gems-of-a-movie that hardly anyone has heard about! Everybody needs to see this. I discovered it on YouTube and it was my go-to thing whenever I was going through a difficult time in my life. The acting is superb, the scenery is spectacular, and the story is timeless.It was shipped to me in a matter of 3 days, the product was in amazing condition, and is now in my basement next to the TV, just waiting to be watched!! I'm so glad I own it now so that I can watch it over and over again.

Tarsem a réalisé trop peu de films (et surtout des mauvais ces derniers temps). Ses deux premiers sont à voir absolument : The Fall est moins connu que son prédécesseur ; The Cell, il est pourtant tout aussi bon. Visuellement génial, le réalisateur va encore plus loin dans son montage pour relier le rêve et la réalité. Moins dérangeant que The Cell, le film n'en reste pas moins torturé et dépressif, malgré ses envolées lyriques et le regard d'un enfant. A voir !!

Fantastico, tenero, commovente ed originale! Come tutti i grandi film del cinema indipendente, si è rivelato una perla nascosta che purtroppo ,credo, solo una cerchia ristretta di appassionati di cinema avranno il piacere di scoprire. Eccellenti le interpretazioni di Lee Pace (conosciuto ai più solo per il ruolo di Thranduil ne "Lo Hobbit", immeritatamente...) e anche della piccola Catinca Untaru (una bambina fenomenale!). Gli scenari sono concepiti con una maestria raffinata che sorprende nella sua eccentricità, senza che lo spettatore senta mai la mancanza della produzione mastodontica da block-buster. Meno spazio all'azione, in quanto viene privilegiata la profondità di pensiero, ma il film non risulta mai lento, senza scopo o noioso; sublimi tutti i piccoli dettagli, che si notano di più in una seconda visione della pellicola (tranquilli, viene voglia di rivederlo!), per esempio tutte le piccole incomprensioni tipiche di una mente infantile. Credo che valga davvero la pena vederlo e penso inoltre che, nonostante la sua scarsa notorietà, possa essere apprezzato da un ampio raggio di persone.