The Fall DVD, 2006

Every so often a film comes out of nowhere to reaffirm your love for cinema by allowing you to experience the delight of something entirely fresh and new. Filmed over four years in 18 different countries, The Fall is a real labour of love which combines the visual beauty of Ron Fricke’s Baraka with the vivid magical realism of Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth.

At the turn of last century, a cheerfully inquisitive 5 year-old, in hospital recovering from a fall, encounters a half-paralysed stuntman. He enchants her with a fantastical tale of bandits and adventure, getting her hooked on each instalment so she will purloin him morphine. Appropriately for a film set in the early days of silent cinema, the film eschews special effects to use costumes, dance, stop-motion animation, breathtaking landscape photography and – best of all – a montage of silent film clips to tell his story. However, its visual extravagance belies its narrative simplicity, which, in the end, is about a child’s incomparable sense of wonder.

Milo Wakelin on 20th December 2008
View all 94 of Milo Wakelin's reviews

Totally enchanting and captivating. Locations are not only spectacular but resonant of mystery and another era. The reality becomes magic and the magicality could easi... more >

Totally enchanting and captivating. Locations are not only spectacular but resonant of mystery and another era. The reality becomes magic and the magicality could easily be confused with the reality. < less