Tarsim’s “The Fall”
Sarah, Matt, Allen, and I got around to seeing the new film by Tarsem, “The Fall,” last Saturday. It definitely deserves a post. The story takes place in a hospital in LA in the 1930s, and centers around a stunt-double who’s broken his legs and who tells an epic story to an adorable foreign girl with a broken arm (I believe she’s from eastern Europe). The story and their lives begin to interweave, and the whole film has this amazing, surreal, dreamlike feel to it. I thought the plot was great, with one goofy hiccup in the way the conflict with the villain is resolved (our audience laughed). There are great motifs of redemption to be found, and I love the way the film interpreted the way dreams and reality can blur together (reminded me a lot of Michel Gondry).
If you’ve ever seen “The Cell,” you’ll immediately recognize Tarsem’s cinematographic style. It’s simply a beautifully shot movie; easily up there with “Amelie.” The opening sequence looks more like a slideshow of moving photography by Ansel Adams than a movie.