The Fall (2006)

In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story of five mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality blurs as the tale advances.

Director:

Tarsem Singh

Writers:

Dan Gilroy (screenplay), Nico Soultanakis (screenplay),

Stars:

Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Lee Pace

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catinca Untaru	...	Alexandria
Justine Waddell	...	Nurse Evelyn / Sister Evelyn
Lee Pace	...	Roy Walker / Red Bandit
Kim Uylenbroek	...	Doctor / Alexander the Great
Aiden Lithgow	...	Alexander's Messenger
Sean Gilder	...	Walt Purdy
Ronald France	...	Otto
Andrew Roussouw	...	Mr. Sabatini
Michael Huff	...	Dr. Whitaker
Grant Swanby	...	Father Augustine
Emil Hostina	...	Alexandria's Father / Blue Bandit
Robin Smith	...	Luigi / One Legged Actor
Jeetu Verma	...	Indian / Orange Picker
Leo Bill	...	Darwin / Orderly
Marcus Wesley	...	Otta Benga / Ice Delivery Man

Storyline

At a Los Angeles hospital in the 1920s, Alexandria is a child recovering from a broken arm. She befriends Roy Walker, a movie stunt man with legs paralyzed after a fall. At her request, Roy tells her an elaborate story about six men of widely varied backgrounds who are on a quest to kill a corrupt provincial governor. Between chapters of the story, Roy inveigles Alexandria to scout the hospital's pharmacy for morphine. As Roy's fantastic tale nears its end, Death seems close at hand.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | indian | bandit | governor | girl | 

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Taglines:

A Little Blessing In Disguise.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images

Details

Country:

USA India

Language:

English Romanian Latin

Release Date:

3 January 2008 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Dublê de Anjo

Filming Locations:

Taj Lake Palace, Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$79,611 (USA) (9 May 2008)

Gross:

$2,280,348 (USA) (1 January 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Googly Films, Absolute Entertainment (II), Deep Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darwin's monkey "Wallace" is a reference to the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace who independently developed the idea of natural selection. Darwin and Wallace presented the theory together, but due to the publication of "On the Origin of Species" Darwin usually gets sole credit for the theory. The scene on Butterfly Island when Darwin closes Wallace in the sack and says " we.... I have an idea" alludes to him taking sole credit for ideas that were not completely his own.

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Goofs

There is a 50-star U.S. flag flying on hospital. The movie is set in the 1920s, but the 50-star flag wasn't adopted until 1960.

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Quotes

Governor Odious: [after being stabbed] I'm not feeling very well.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.18 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Mystical Directions to Odious (Chak-Chak)"
Written by Ketut Rina and Tarsem Singh (as Tarsem)

User Reviews

Fantasy and Reality Entwined

In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, in the pediatric wing of a hospital in Los Angeles, the talkative five year-old girl Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) is recovering from a broken arm. Alexandria works with her family of immigrants in the harvest of oranges and she has just lost her father. When she meets the injured stuntman Roy Walker (Lee Pace) recovering from a fall and also brokenhearted with the loss of his girlfriend to the lead actor, he begins to tell a fantastic tale about six heroes and their common enemy, the hideous Governor Odious. Black Bandit that lost his brother Blue Bandit that was killed by Odious' men; the expert in explosives Luigi that was outcast in his town by Odious; the Indian that lost his gorgeous wife that was abducted by Odious; the former slave Otta Benga that lost his twin brother in the fields of Odious; Charles Darwin that receives a rare "Mistica Americana" butterfly killed by Odious; and Mystic that hated Odious that destroyed the fauna and flora of his lands, join forces to defeat the evil Odious. While Alexandria fantasizes the story projecting the images of her acquaintances in the characters, the heartsick Roy uses her innocence to ask the girl to still morphine and medicines from the dispensary for him to commit suicide.

"The Fall" is one of the most original films that I have recently watched. This adventure has a stunning opening sequence in black and white and slow motion with the Allegretto from Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770-1827) Symphony # 7 in A mayor, Opus 92 in the soundtrack. The story entwines reality and fiction, burring the situations in a certain moment, and may be understood in many layers; therefore this dramatic feature can also been seen by children and is a great family entertainment. The cinematography sets and locations are very beautiful and bright with intense use of colors. This is the type of movie that deserves to be watched more than once to have the full understanding of all situations. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Dublê de Anjo" ("Stunt of Angel")