The Fall

I'm watched this film twice first of all i didn't really get it i was expecting something else though still loved the visuals. Then after describing it to a housemate I watched it again and saw the charm of it all and it fell --mostly - into place quite nicely.
The thing is it is quite a hard story to pigeonhole - which it may do better for it - but the fact the two central protagonists are so different in age one a 9 year girl (Alexandra-Catinca Untaru)another in his mid twenties (Roy Walker - Lee Pace)confuses me with what target audience they were aiming it at.
The Story sets self around an LA hospital in the 1920's where a stunt man and an inquisitive young Spanish girl meet by chance and start talking. Their relationship develops as Roy tells her a story which he gives in fragments in exchange for certain gifts which Alexandra provides from around the hospital. This becomes quite annoying at times due to the story which he tells being so beautifully shot full of colour, bringing us back back to childhood fairytales of old and it being stopped by events in the hospital. It leaves you wishing the story was just told in its entirety but on second viewing i realize it is important in establishing the story to coincide with the events in the hospital.
Another problem is it starts out as a period piece with a beautiful story but as we learn darker themes are involved the original fairy story changes to much draker affair encompassing suicide, love, betrayal and death. Which leaves an uneasy target audience to woo in .Though i also respect the different approach that Tarsem takes ignoring the commercial aspect of film making - narratively at least - and rather explores immense cinematography which i can see unrivaled in its epic scope. From deserts, oceans, palaces on lakes, gardens, palaces and many other of our worlds wonders including The Taj Mahal which is the backdrop for a shootout with love.

The acting though some maybe a bit shaky Alexandra played by Catinca Untaru is atonishing as the young girl with such natural flare for acting in front of camera. If i were compare her it would defiantly be Dakota Fanning the other child actor that i can stand i.e. not from a stage school where they drain all orginality/ creativity out of you - which i'm led to believe by many annoying wannabes in CBBC/CITV tv etc.

I think anyone who loves beautifully shot, general film making (there being an ode to the silent stuntmen of the period), brilliant acting (all except maybe the princess obviously swyed the casting director with looks rather than any acting creditability)and quirky storytelling should buy or defiantly watch this film.


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Wheres Gummo?

I bought a film posters book of the 90's in a Portugal book fair and as i was flicking through this image struck me. You see I have this fascination with spectacle and striking images which distort, cause reaction or just seem slightly odd. This can sometimes lead me to venture onto the cinema and see some terrible films i.e. Van Helsing - bad choice OR Watchmen - one of the best films that i watched last year. So it is no surprise that this accordion playing rabbit headed boy in a toliet cubicle gives me a certain urge to see Gummo. The claim that its made by the creator of Kids is also an intriguing prospect, as that film was bought me as a christmas gift with the words 'it'll make you never want to have sex'. Though it was a powerful film i overcame my 'fear' of sex the following year but the overbearing message about AIDS is still there. Anyhow Gummo no matter how much i want to see it, its a hard film to try to find since i think its not in print in the UK.

This Christmas i got The Fall which is introduced by David Fincher (FIGHT CLUB)and Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich). The trailer struck me as one of the most imaginative and visually stunning pieces of cinema i've ever seen.


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