The Fall
I saw The Fall, one of Roger Ebert’s best movies of 2008, last night thanks to Netflix and someone who read Roger Ebert’s best movies of 2008. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a full episode of Pushing Daisies. Whenever I catch a glimpse it is normally Lee Pace in the frame looking bummed out. He played bummed out/suicidal, paralyzed stuntman Roy in The Fall but all supernatural touches were relegated to his imagination and that of fellow patient, 10 year old Alexandria (Catinca Untaru).
I tend not to like bold colors in film because I think it can be distracting. The bold color and almost operatic drama of Hindi cinema is done well here and I think Tarsem wisely used it to paint a fantasy land for his western audience. He did the same thing in The Cell; the bold colors and elaborate costumes are used to illustrate the mind of a serial killer.
I was most interested the claim that no computer generated imagery was used. Being tipped off beforehand, I found certain sequences to be even more impressive. The transition near the end where the smirking face of an evil priest cross dissolves into a desert landscape mirroring his features is great.
One last note before this turns into a novel…
There is a stop motion animated operation scene done by Lauenstein & Lauenstein reminiscent of the operation scene in Frida by another set of brothers (The Brothers Quay). What is it with brothers and animation?
The Fall trailer overly focuses on the fantastical, but it’s worth a look. Better yet, watch the film. Also watch out for Catinca Untaru to be nominated for an Academy Award.
