The Fall

When I opened up Tarsem Singh’s The Fall, I had no idea what I was getting into. I had never heard of the film before, nor did I know what it was about, or what actors it had. Looking at the poster, I was expecting some sort of surrealist, fantasy hybrid: what  saw surprised and captivated me.

Roger Ebert said, “You might want to see [the film] for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it.” The Fall breaks no boundaries in it’s style, it does not seek to be a rebellious in it’s conventions; still, I have not seen anything like this, and I doubt I ever will.

Quick synopsis: Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a young girl with a broken arm is recovering at a hospital where she meets a stunt man named Roy Walker (Lee Pace) who shares an “epic” story with her.

As usual, this is not a review, just points of personal interest.

The young girl at the center of the story is a more than suitable protagonist for this tale. Her youth, age and innocence – ignorant from the consequences of lying and stealing – provides an effective perspective on it’s subject matter. The Fall is a film about the power of the imagination, the blurred line, or lack thereof,  between fiction and the real world. Without her to guide us, a reminder of this escapism and the exterior affect on the imagined and vice versa would be forgotten. The audience is given permission to explore in a manner that would be impossible with an adult (See The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for a different approach towards the relationship between real life and the imagination). At some point, it even covers what I feel to be one of the most important functions of cinema itself.

And as usual, I’m a sucker for those kinds of characters.

As I said before, The Fall does not try to be eccentric, but it provides some beautiful imagery and art design. What sticks out to me in particular are the repeated use of wide shots featuring characters reflected in puddles, rivers, oceans and the like. Sometime the camera pans up to reveal the figures in the frame, other times the puddles and the subjects are present. There are some breathtaking landscapes here, featuring locations in dozens of countries. A strong variety between massive deserts, the great wall of china, mountains, palaces, etc. to top it off. Exotic costumes, especially the Black Bandit’s mask. Loved the black and white slow motion introduction also.

Obviously, Catinca Untaru is a talented actress, but I cannot imagine the amount of work and tools Singh put together to create an authentic chemistry with Lee Pace and reaction and engagement with the world around her. I read that her role was based around “spontaneous interactions” which is interesting. I cannot imagine her lines being scripted or improved: she’s a natural. Lee Pace undoubtedly sacrifices all personal awareness to get the best performance out of his costar. It’s a truly brilliant chemistry.

One thing I loved? Crying is crying. The Fall doesn’t fake it. It’s a unique experience you will not get anywhere else. There is no film like it, there will never another film like it.

Yeah, I teared up at the end.