The Fall

Just a quick plug for an amazing movie that I was fortunate enough to find out about. I saw in the theatre but it was a limited release so it was only showing in one theatre in all of Utah. It's out on DVD now which is great because now everyone can see it.

I think it's sad that a lot of widely released films are pretty lame and the really good ones are always limited (ie. The Savages, Smart People, Brick, Triplets of Belleville etc.) On the other hand independent films are very much a hit or miss in my book. Movies like "Broken Flowers" and "The Squid and the Whale" come to mind as really horrible films.

The Fall is a beautiful film with incredible art direction, great music and amazing locations. The story is creative, engaging, moving, contemplative, light hearted but also heart wrenching. The acting is well and done and the characters are wonderful and dynamic. It was filmed in 18 different countries over four years and is very Baraka -ish(for those of you who have seen that movie) in several parts.

I don't quite know how to explain the story so here's what it says on the back of the DVD: In 1920's Los Angeles, Alexandria, a five year old girl who is hospitalized from a fall, strikes up a friendship with Roy who is shattered by a nearly fatal accident and a betrayal by his girl friend. To pass time, Roy tells Alexandria the epic story of Governor Odious and the five remarkable heros determined to defeat him. It's a dazzling world of magic and myth. Only when the line between reality and fantasy begins to dissolve does Alexandria realize how much is truly at stake.

It's a start but it doesn't really cover how deep the store really is. Anyway I really love is film and recommend it to everyone. On a side note, this movie is rated R, and I'm still struggling to understand why. There is one swear word and about 2 minutes of violence where people die, but it is not graphic. The only thing that I can think of is that it deals with some mature themes like death and finding meaning in life...but still in my opinion this movie could almost be rated PG, what with all the crap I see in most PG-13 rated films. The rating system is all out of whack for me, which is why I believe we should really judge movies by content not the rating that is given them because most of the time there's more offensive things in PG-13 movies. My favorite site to find out exactly what is in movies is www.kids-in-mind.com. They don't give anything in the movie away and they list everything that is in the movie, from how many low cut dresses to how many and which swear words and also insults such as jerk. It's a really good site.