Occasionally, due to marketing, the whims of the public an exceptional film gets lost. The Fall, 2006,(released in 2008) is one such film. If a long summer of “blockbusters” is a dim prospect to you ~ off to the rental store!  The screen lights up and suddenly you are transported to another world, another place….

As all good films should, this one starts with the words Los Angeles, once upon a time and the main characters take form before your eyes. Set in the 1920’s the tale turns around a love story, a recently paralyzed man, Roy (Lee Pace-Pushing Daises), a recuperating little girl, Alexandria (Catinaca Untaru), hope and despair.

Directed by Tarsem Singh (The Cell) this is a movie that not only expects you to follow the story, it believes you are intelligent enough to do so. If you have seen The Cell you know to expect visual glory~ though this is still a dark film, it is not horrific. Shot in 24 different countries, each location is almost a character, as the fantasy epic Roy tells to entice Alexandria is interspersed with the realities of a long hospital recovery. Beautiful, stunning, artistic, fantastic…..Tarsem Singh is a visual genius.

The DVD has a director’s commentary, along with commentaries by the Lee Pace and the writers and two behind the scenes documentaries, Wanderlust and Nostalgia. It is a rare film that has captured me so that I have sat through four hours of film and commentary~ and then woke up in the middle of the night needing to watch the story again.

I cannot recommend this film enough. Not for children, rated R, it clocks in at 1 hour and 57 minutes. Interestingly at rottentomatoes the critics gave it a 61% and the fans a 91%.