The Fall

This is an amazing film! The plot is a story within a story. The first story takes place in 1920s Hollywood in a hospital. The two main characters are a young man, a stuntman who was badly hurt in a stunt and who is also suffering from a broken heart, and a little girl, a migrant worker who fell from an orange tree and broke her arm. They meet by chance when Alexandria, the little girl sails a message out the window of her room to her favorite nurse outdoors. The wind catches it and it sails into the room of Roy, the stuntman and lands on his chest. Alexandria runs outdoors and peeks in windows until she sees Roy looking at her message. She promptly goes in and takes it away from him. He stops her with the promise of an epic story. She’s intrigued. So begins the second story. This story is a fantastical tale of Governor Odious and the five heroes who want to defeat him. They are: the black bandit, Charles Darwin, a mystic, a slave, an Indian, and an Italian who is an expert with explosives. If this sounds a bit improbable don’t let that bother you. Remember, this is an epic story, made up by a stuntman and told to a little girl; its okay if it’s incredible. The Fall is directed by Tarsem, who is from India. It is filmed literally all over the world: 16 different countries and 4 years in the making. The settings are amazing: clear water, vivid green grass, overpowering golden-brown sand dunes. The look of this film is indeed awesome. The landscapes, the architecture, the costumes, the brilliant colors, they are all truly jaw-dropping. The two stories are interwoven with perfection. Although nothing in this film is typical, or expected, everything in this film is pure wonder. There is no film quite like this one. This film is a feast for the eyes, it is creative and imaginative—it is breathtaking.