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Praising The Fall
It's hard to feel interested about Tarsem Singh's The Fall given its long history of shooting going back to '04 or thereabouts. I don't trust films that take forever to be made, and it's hard to be interested in a film that showed at Toronto almost two years ago and generated no buzz. Then again, it's being "presented" by David Fincher and Spike Jonze so it obviously has some level of quality and integrity.
Roadside Entertainment is releasing The Fall on May 9th, and to support this a screening was held last night at the Armand Hammer museum. I was invited but decided to go to the Young @ Heart concert instead. An HE reader named Grant McFadden attended, and this is partly what he wrote this morning:
"I absolutely implore you to please, please see The Fall, as I truly believe you will agree that it is, without question, a landmark film of our time. It is phenomenal.
"Allow me to reiterate what I'm sure you already know. 24-plus countries. 2 years to make. 16 1/2 years of scouting. Fully financed by Tarsem himself. When cash got low, he purposefully would arrange for a commercial shoot in a particular part of the world to make the cash on the side...and then continue the shoot.
"The little girl's performance is insanely brilliant. From the q & a, Tarsem revealed that she hadn't acted before...and didn't really understand what was going on until about a third of the way into the shoot. She was convinced that Lee wasn't an actor and that he truly was a paraplegic. (This isn't a spoiler) But when she did catch on to the whole acting thing....she thrived and nailed her scenes. Every time. This, according to Tarsem.
"The film is tragic, surreal, hilarious, epic. It captures his brilliant artistic production design while remaining true to the narrative that builds with empathy to the very end. It is Ford, Chaplin, Dali, Del Toro, Brooks, Tarkovsky....and so on. I have no faith in Roadside Attractions to market this film. They will step and then kill it.
"Please see this. It needs great word of mouth. Particularly yours. I have no connection to this film. I'm simply an earnest cinephile who wants to scream in angst when something this beautiful is put through the ringer. But there is no question....The Fall is one of the great films of our time."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 18, 2008 at 11:18 AM
comment #1
MiraJeffAICN
says ...
The trailer blew me away and Moriarty dug it, so I'm there. Thanks for invite, Roadside!
Posted by MiraJeffAICN
at April 18, 2008 11:39 AM
comment #2
Geoff
says ...
I haven't seen the film but I would love if Wells gets to see it. Because of his love for photography and tone, he would be able to formulate a good opinion on whether or not we should see it for the visuals...or if it's an altogether blissful film.
Posted by Geoff
at April 18, 2008 11:55 AM
comment #3
DotTheEyes
says ...
I am excited for this. I thought Tarsem Singh's The Cell was a flawed, but interesting experience and he's a music video legend (the video for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" is masterful). And Lee Pace (from ABC's Pushing Daises and The Good Shepherd) is a charismatic actor.
Posted by DotTheEyes
at April 18, 2008 12:26 PM
comment #4
David Ehrlich
says ...
wow, cant' believe how excited i am to see this given how much i disliked THE CELL. thanks for passing this along, jeff, the writer's passion is duly noted.
Posted by David Ehrlich
at April 18, 2008 12:31 PM
comment #5
CleftClips
says ...
I was at the Hammer Museum screening, as well, and can whole-heartedly support the reader's remarks. It's an astonishing film.
Posted by CleftClips
at April 18, 2008 12:37 PM
comment #6
Mark
says ...
Am i missing something? If there's one universal truth, it's that little kids don't stay little. How can you have a little girl star in a movie that took multiple years to shoot.
Posted by Mark
at April 18, 2008 12:45 PM
comment #7
hatchetface
says ...
Wasn't crazy about The Cell, but it was visually striking. The trailer for this film is beautiful, and Fincher and Jonez pimping actually has some sway with me as well.
Posted by hatchetface
at April 18, 2008 1:08 PM
comment #8
lazarus
says ...
Mark, from what I understand, the film cuts back between the soldier telling the little girl stories, and flashbacks to the stories themselves. The little girl's scenes all take place in one location, and were shot all at once.
Not that his opinion carries much here, but David Poland admired this one as well, with a couple misgivings, mainly about Pace's performance.
Posted by lazarus
at April 18, 2008 2:42 PM
comment #9
Mark
says ...
From the trailer, the girl appears to be in costume as part of the soldier's story. I suppose that if she's a little older within the fantasy parts, no big whoop.
Posted by Mark
at April 18, 2008 2:55 PM
comment #10
lipranzer
says ...
I loved THE CELL, and I liked Pace on "Pushing Daisies," so I'm looking forward to this, even though it does look like one of those movies that could either be a mindblowing masterpiece or an outright catastrophe.
Posted by lipranzer
at April 18, 2008 3:27 PM
comment #11
CinemaPhreek
says ...
Say what you will about the story, but what Tarsem Singh brought visually to THE CELL is enough for me to check out this one. One could be forgiven if they were to read into Fincher's interest in Singh as one filmmaker who knows all too well the difficulties of getting past that video/commerical director label. Hell, I was one of those who dismissed Fincher as well.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at April 18, 2008 3:36 PM
comment #12
Glenn Kenny
says ...
Saw it in Toronto a couple years ago. It ain't Tarkovsky, but it's certainly Tarkovsky-informed (as Tarsem's videos were) and i't absolutely worth seeing. Not particularly "inaccessible" either. In fact it's a goddamn disgrace that it took so long to get put before the public.
Posted by Glenn Kenny
at April 18, 2008 6:53 PM
comment #13
sig
says ...
the still reminds me of spring, summer, fall, winter and then spring for some reason.
Posted by sig
at April 18, 2008 7:03 PM
comment #14
bebop69
says ...
Jeff, you should see this. It's quite striking in its faith in the redemptive power of narrative. Though the actual narrative is a little shaky, the film is about what a story can do and be. And it really is wonderfully beautiful, from Eiko Ishioka's costumes to the spectacular locations, none of which are constructed. The girl is a joy to watch, and yes, it was filmed over a long time and you can watch her tooth grow in as the story progresses.
Yes, it's taken a long time to get distribution, but when is idiosyncracy and originality valued when it comes time to sell a movie?
This movie may not be perfect, but it's brave and enchanting.
Posted by bebop69
at April 20, 2008 9:31 PM
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