Change Your Image
nhakimi
Reviews
Mendy (2003)
A Song About Souls
If you are a "big soul" yourself, and especially if Jewish and/or sufficiently well-read about Yiddishkeit (Jewish culture), you'll appreciate this telling about how Hashem brings a Hasid out into the big scary secular world to witness how the Neshama (Divine spark) manifests also in the many worlds outside Brooklyn. Our charming protagonist, well-played, grapples with certain questions and characters give simple – but not simplistic answers. In our language we would say this film is "Tam" (innocent) not "Chacham" (wise/clever) so don't expect a cerebral mind- bender. Hush and listen and this will reward you with low-budget production and homey charm. Perhaps G-d is in some Brazilian too? ;)
The Fall (2006)
A Story about Stories
"The Fall" is a story about stories. At its center is the fantasy, a story told by one of the characters to another (somewhat a la Princess Bride, and sometimes to similar effect). The fantasy is set in exotic locations, featuring archetypal characters and gorgeous, lavish visuals. It works on several levels, which multiply as the film progresses. The story Roy tells Alexandria does more than impress visually. It interacts with their world. It responds, often quite humorously, with their needs and their emotions.
Do not believe the poor Rotten Tomatoes rating, or the professional reviewers who feel that "The Fall" is strong visually but lacking in substance. Such an assessment misses the point entirely. Yeah, this film is visually impressive. Its vivid colors, elaborate costumes, and sweeping landscapes can be likened aesthetically to the work of director Zhang Yimou (Hero), or even to the surrealist paintings of artist Salvador Dali. (And sometimes M.C. Escher.) For me it is reminiscent of Moulin Rouge, if not exactly in its tone, in its exhilarated freedom.
Anyway, make no mistake: the images are beautiful. Furthermore the editing style has a refreshing uniqueness. Reviewers seem to enjoy dismissing these achievements as self-indulgence, or utter pretentiousness. This is bunk. Tarsem has more talent than just about any 10 directors put together and there is nothing wrong with his exercising it. Most importantly, the result is truly a pleasure to watch, and isn't that what's important?
As a matter of fact, though he is a real visionary with a camera and apparently a genius with narrative structure, Tarsem does not take himself too seriously. For one thing, he lets the impossibly charming young actress playing Alexandria shine. She fumbles with her lines in English, tools around with props, plays with her adult costar, and bares her emotions with a true child's honesty. Furthermore, the exaggerated stereotypes and events within the fantasy world are not ironic. They are silly. And most of all, you can trust that Tarsem believes in this project, and he means every frame of it. Having labored over it for roughly two decades, shot it in about 20 countries, financed and distributed it himself, he certainly has no one's expectations in mind but his own.
What really fascinates me is how the fantasy world is imagined through the eyes of the child and the stuntman jointly, and re-imagined through our eyes, and re-shaped in retrospect. That stories have three natures - intended, created, and remembered - is one of this film's pillars. (Others being the child and the vision.) Storytelling as an art is not meant to be static, sterile. In this film the stories that are told, and the concept of storytelling itself, are manipulative; responsive, deliberate, interactive, subjective, and truly, completely creative. I mean that fully.
So, no, the film is not one of conventional "plot structure." And yes, it is in this respect a somewhat difficult pill to swallow. To be fair, The Fall does have a plot and does has its share of turns. But what happens in its reality world is less important than how that interacts and entangles itself with what happens in the imagined world. There are layers in the invention that come from the reality and affect it and are affected by it. These machinations do not satisfy the traditional script-formula, because its nature is more complex than that, and ultimately it will challenge and satisfy you in a totally different and very satisfying way. Sorry if that sounds lofty or pretentious... its simpler if you see it yourself, and if you let it take you.
Bottom Line: very beautiful, very "meta." Emotional and visual. Structurally complex. A collage that builds itself. Worth seeing more than once. I certainly intend to.
Oh, and try to see this while its still out on the big screen. You will enjoy it more in a communal setting. If you don't have that opportunity, then I assure you, you are supposed to laugh.