"The Fall" Movie Review; A Childs Mind

If we could see inside of a child's mind, what exactly would we see?

The human mind is fascinating, none so vibrant and mystical as the mind of a child.

This is the reason I fell in love with a young girl named Alexandria right away. My youngest insists that she looks like a small Scarlett O'Hara, she does have those same eyes, the ones that draw you in and hold you.

She is sweet, but has the right touch of attitude. Kind, but also stubborn. Yet it isn't just the outside of Alexandria that is so fascinating, it is the glimpse we get inside of her imagination.

"The Fall" is one of the most stunning movies I have ever seen.

The long awaited follow-up to the visually stunning imagery contained in "The Cell." It was filmed in eighteen different countries over a period of four years.

Director Tarsem Singh once again gives us a breath taking view of the unexplored territory inside the human mind.

It is the early 1900's and young Alexandria is in the hospital. She broke her arm in a fall while picking oranges with her family of migrant workers. Bored Alexandria writes a note to her favorite nurse and tries to toss it down to the courtyard below, when the wind picks it up and carries it into an open window.

This is how Alexandria meets a Roy, a stunt man left unable to walk after a fall of his own. His life has been reduced to shambles, and he is contemplating suicide. To pass the time, Roy begins telling young Alexandria a story that takes place in a far away land. At first his motives appear to be innocent, but he quickly begins using the story to manipulate Alexandria to his own selfish ends. Can the innocence of Alexandria save him?

The movie takes place in two worlds, the world of the pre-depression era hospital and the world of Roy's words combined with Alexandria's imagination.
As the story begins to take a darker turn, Alexandria battles not just to save the story, but to save Roy as well.

As the story of the masked bandit unfolds in Alexandria's mind, her fantasy world plays out on screen. When Roy's introduces one character, an Indian, meant to be a Native American, Alexandria imagines it to be a friend from India. Adding vivid color and life to an already bold story.

The scenes themselves are childlike in their simplicity but often deeply complex as well. The use of color is amazing, with cities of blue and beaches of stunning white sand. There are entire sets composed of Escher like stairs, and another scene where the face of the priest melts into a landscape with Dali like facial features.

This is one of the few movies that will leave you breathless, where you can't quite decide if it is the plot, or the scenes that leave you feeling that way.

Overall, "The Fall" reminds you of your own childhood and the power of imagination. Taking you back to that place where the line between perception and reality barely existed at all. You quickly find that you never really lost it, it is still there somewhere inside of you just waiting to be picked up and used again.