The Fall

"The Fall" seems to almost be a global mash-up of sorts - a dreamy tribute reflecting a true passion for films. Its storytelling convention reads as an homage to "The Wizard of Oz". Its visual artistry has roots in Chinese films like "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" as well as "Pan's Labyrinth" from Mexico and hints of "Amelie" from France. Its sound design is almost magical akin to Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams". And its pacing and performance seems as though Spanish director Pedro Almodovar was in fact conducting at times. The director is from India - Tarsem Singh - the visionary behind another eye-popping film "The Cell". His career began in music videos and has now covered commercials and films as well. His work can be seen here. His artistic sensibility is very well-defined and his work is clearly artfully crafted. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his vision in cinema.

For every brushstroke of Tarsem's there was an equally talented co-pilot in director of photography Colin Watkinson. It's shocking that outside of commercial work his credits as the DP only include one other film and the TV show "Entourage". This man needs to be hired for more films - my goodness. The film looks like a fine art photographer wrapped it up in his arms and kissed it with light. It's simply beautiful to look at. The opening title sequence alone is positively stunning.

I will say the one thing that was lacking was a powerful and utterly engaging story. The art direction far surpassed the level of the narrative and it would have been a home run with a more intricately involved script. Hopefully that will be developed further in Tarsem's later work.

The trailer can be seen here.