F

The Fall - 2006 *****

When you hear this title, what comes to mind? Albert Camus and his book that anticipates the downfall of a man through the examination of his conscience? The transition of humans from innocence to guilt by Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis? Well at least these are what came to my mind. Upon watching this eccentric and Darwinistic film, I see that the story is so much more than just the idea of a downfall and a savored innocence of a child.  Now, you can go ahead and defenestrate all conventional expectations you might have before watching The Fall because quite frankly, you won't need them.  Warning: this movie is not for the conventional of heart.  Be ready to laugh at yourself, at the silliness, and at the clutter because this is a movie you will never forget.  

The fundamental concept that drives the plot of this movie lies in a hospitalized stunt man, who is wavering at the precipice of his life. While in the hospital,  the now paralyzed and suicidal man, Roy, befriends Alexandria, a curious and dangerously imaginative five year old girl with broken English (her accent being one of the many charms of this movie), telling her make-believe stories of bandits and evil governors.  His motive? To get her to steal morphine for him.  The characters Roy creates not only possess depth, but they are also charmingly witty and more often then not, comical. What's interesting is you can see the progression of Roy's mentality through those characters.   The movie switches back and forth between a stark reality and a technicolor imagination.  The Fall is a tantalizing film about friendship and giving up, a pain far greater than death, and finally, a greatest revenge on one's downfall.    

I couldn't help but fall in love with The Fall, with its beautiful Salvador Dali-inspired cinematography and its subject on man's abysmal misery.  I can see now where Avatar and Empire of the Sun's music video (Standing on the Shore...youtube it!) have gotten their inspiration.  This movie is what all movies should be about and it is the epitome of what I crave for in film.  In addition, there is incredible imagery that oozes with symbolism.  One of the bandits in Roy's story, interestingly enough is Charles Darwin.  In one of the snapshots, you see his hand holding a small monkey's hand, and a butterfly flies out from the monkey's grasp which clearly represents Darwinism (man evolving from monkey; butterfly signifying evolution) and his theories of natural selection. After seeing this image, I finally realized the true theme to this movie: the evolution of the mind .  That right there is an example of how ideas need not words to connect the reader to the writer.  It's a minute detail, but to me, details like these are what differentiates a good movie from a phenomenal movie.   


I would have never known about this film if it wasn't for my amazingly perceptive (and might I add, AWESOME) friend from Seattle who introduced me to The Fall.  How many stars? Abso-freakin'-lutely FIVE STARS!