The Fall (2006)

If anyone should ever use the word "perfection" to describe a film it should be used to explain the visual barrage of captivating images in Tarsem Singh's (or in this case just Tarsem) 2006 fantasy epic The Fall. The dedication of showing stark images whenever possible starts with the black and white opening credits (properly supported by Krishna Levy's lush score) and begins to unwind the tale of an injured stuntman (Lee Pace) losing his acting career (moreso his girlfriend) and ends up in a Los Angeles hospital and finds the most peculiar friendship in five year old Alexandria (brilliantly played by Catinca Untaru) and sees an oportunity to leave all of the suffering behind through her, but not in the way you would imagine.

Before anymore on this film, I will fill you in on the director, thus ending the inevitable head scratching and confused looks as you Google his name. Tarsem broke into the scene directing music videos for such acts as En Vouge, Deep Forest and R.E.M. His first feature film was 2001's The Cell and he is known for his lack of using CGI and rather using the natural beauty the world has in spades.

From the opening sequence to the final scene this movie is the epitome of what a film is suppose to be. When you watch a movie you want to escape from the daily grind for a few hours and visit somewhere you could only imagine. With the help of a five year old's imagination and the desperation of the story teller (also Lee Pace) you are taken across the world to places that couldnt be real or seeing things involving actual people, but you have to remember there is no CGI in this film whatsoever, so everything you are seeing is happening for real. From the vast orange deserts with Alexander the Great to the Blue city following the motley crew of revenge seekers (one is also played by Lee Pace) and all the dreamy landscapes in between. The way Tarsem sets his world apart from any other you have seen is that he lets you know that you are seeing the imagination of little Alexandria, such as Charles Darwin's almost gibberish looking sign-language skills to the lack of knowing the difference in the two types of Indians.

Now, I will spend a little time glorifying Catinca Untaru on her monumental breakthrough performance. Having no knowledge of the English language prior to this and needing to be taught the phonetic pronunciation of her lines she delivers the greatest child performance I can clearly remember. Her stuttering and lack of knowing the thin line between right and wrong sometimes (as most five year olds) adds to her overall cuteness and one can't help to commend her ability to act despite having her arm in an uncomfortable position the entire film, and she is able to win the crowd over. She also has the uncanny ablity to bring tears pouring down one's face in the films more gripping moments (I havent cried like that since Dakota Fanning in "Man On Fire"). All in all she brings the child in all of us out and with a smile, and it is a good feeling.

The rest of the cast,utilizing the use of double casting (also used in The Wizard of Oz) and although many are unknown on this side of the world, they fall into the "I couldn't think of anyone better to play that part" catagory.

Very rarely do I see a movie so wonderful in every aspect, from the acting to the score that I want to share with the world, and this happens to be one of them.

You will not want this story to end.