We can expect a lot of films within a film festival. We can learn about new talents who have their first or second movie. There is an older filmmaker who has made a new film which you have not seen before and is new to you. However, there is a third chance at some film festivals that is equally thrilling, but I want to talk about retrospectives first, which are my favorite chances at any film festival: this is a look back at films by past directors! There is of course a good reason to celebrate the restorations that were lined up within the 2024 edition of Fantastic Fest. With that said, in addition to getting the latest from filmmakers of all statues around the world, I was also able to get a film which has been restored recently and could be watched by both old and new fans of the movie.
Tarsem Singh presented The Fall in 2006. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from the movie. For me hearing nothing prior to the movie is the most ideal as there are no spoilers or expectations. I must mention it did not take long for me to be impressed either. The first words flashed on the screen which follows the credit. This film is presented by David Fincher & Spike Jonze.” In some way, I thought that it was the beginning of something exceptional. Either that was true, or something else. There are, without a doubt, moments in The Fall that I feel could be described as confusing or definitively off. For the most part, however, I found the film to be captivating. Nowadays it has become a common trend in films to highlight the filmmakers with a caption that says “the vision is brought to you by.” While many would agree that it works, the filmmakers also understand it lowers the sass factor. With that in mind, we can all agree that this film deserves that title countless times over. Ideas about the story, setting, and decoration spill over each other. In The Fall, it is virtually impossible to avoid effort. In fact, it is quite the opposite, as this film practically destroys the concept. This is a grand fable with only one story being told. Tarsem is given plenty of freedom in his direction because of the premise, one that the audience is willing to accept.
In most cases, the options leave you laughing, tense with excitement, even teary eyed or anxious and overall, interested and thrilled. It is impressive. The Fall can maintain so many twists and surprises without becoming stale throughout the duration. What people should be active in seeking out, however, is this film. But for what it’s worth, it has a lot more than that.
There is a lot to love from Tarsem’s film, and we owe it to filmmakers and their audiences to embrace this new found glory! The Fall has for the longest time been living in a void without having consistent distribution or even the ability to find it on a streaming platform. Consequently, it has lingered in archaism for quite a while. For instance, the audience during this screening consisted of over 60% of first timers. The rest, as far as I could tell, had either watched it during its actual release almost two decades ago or on a very hard to find DVD. Whatever the level of familiarity with the film was, the people were all engaged beginning with the very beginning because of how compelling the film experience is. There are many reasons as to why. To begin with, there is even a plot which is centered around one of the cutest child actors I have ever seen in a film, Catinca Untaru as Alexandria. It is a visually stunning film with lavish colors, and beautiful costumes and locations. At any point in time, the film is bound to just turn the camera and show a brand new setting. From wide sandy deserts to wide green meadows, to complex and intricate maze patterns and beautiful castles, The Fall is indeed an adventure.
The events of the narrative are as follows: Roy Walker (Lee Pace) is recuperating from an accident that occurred after a film stunt in Los Angeles in the 1920s. At the same time, the young Alexandria is in the same hospital with a broken arm she sustained while quarrelling with her mother. Alexandria comes in contact with Roy for a short time until the next day when she comes back to the hospital to hear Roy’s narration. Although the events of the hospital are not that boring (they are also beautiful), it is in this sequence that Tarsem makes us understand the real essence of what cinema. Within the framework of the need of the story, he is able to actually shoot sight and charm and put it on screen. As this picture starts to be shown, The Fall in Ian’s words, should be considered as a reminder that in our lifetime our stories have the forcibly potential to allow us to explore the far corners of the globe. We can create them as we plead to do so. There will however be new sights to be seen, new people to be met and of course we will be shocked and transformed. But of course there is the prospect of sorrow and great grief along with the hope of new beginnings.
The more Roy tells Alexandria about his story, the more the audience discovers about the characters themselves. On the other hand, Roy suffers, and suffers quite a lot, emotionally as well as physically. He contemplates death, and it’s interesting to see how, step by step, he tries to get Alexandria to assist him with his scheme. But on the other hand, Roy is not a villain. He attempts to do everything in his power to keep the child safe. However, his suffering and his hatred for the world seep into the children’s tale he’s spinning for Alexandria. And as this plot progresses, Tarsem has it that Alexandria is witnessing the reality of distress all around her and it as a chronological progression. She spies on doctors who are talking about Roy, but even the story that is being told to her isn’t happy as it is presumed to be as it continues longer. She does her best to try and persuade Roy why it should end differently (sometimes quite hilariously), but in the end, that feeling of sadness becomes overwhelming. After the course of the story, the turning points of Roy become very painful for Alexandria. And after all the excitement she brings with her lovely giggles and prized lines after so much funny work, the heartbreak caused by her grief is too deep.
At last we reach those instances where in these instances Alexandria does her utmost to impress Roy on the way the events in story should proceed. At this point, this is the point where the motion picture, The Fall, advances a beautiful stance with respect to not just the fictional act of story telling but also the act of living our lives.
Alexandria and Roy both remain physically immobile, but it is the manner in which the situation is reversed for both of them that is the most interesting. Roy cannot do much, however, he is able to create beautiful stories for Alexandria. And this escape is a desperate need for her. This is where we see her charming self begin to dominate the narrative, as she seeks to bring humor and happiness to moments that would be considered a great dark shift in the story. But then again, Roy has reached his limit after this. His pain gives him a further sense of rage that muddles the story to a point it becomes unrecognizable, while Alexandria’s pleas go unaswered and ignored. Tarsem Graham’s adaptation, in real time and with unbearably grim direction, takes this much more upbeat story into deeply distressing grounds. Yet, despite being generally focused around sorrows and pain, The Fall has, till now, managed to stay positive. But what if the bearer of these dark thoughts is pushed past his limit? Destructive feelings linger not just in the mind of a person, but spreads like a virus to all people connected. If there is no resistance, then there is pain in both reader’s and loved one’s story. And such was the case of their many love ones stories that they became this way in the first place.
Roy and Alexandria have built a bond whether they appreciate it or not. And at that moment and for the rest of our lives, it should be our higher cost to create a happy ending for ourselves instead of succumbing to those darker feelings within. However we may want to feel now or then, what matters the most is to turn around and see the narratives and the events, the people in our life and look for the beauty in it all. In life, we may fail many many times in many different ways. But what matters most is that we always rise back up.
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