Maybe it was

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/33316/fall-the/

I can't disagree more with this review with regards to the acting comments. I didn't feel the director coaching the girl at all; their scenes played very naturalistic and honest. It felt like they were just talking to each other, not acting through a scene. If you wanna see a child actor acting with too much direction watch something like Home Alone; I can't stand that kind of mimicry.

Obviously, for the rest of the movie you either buy into it or you don't; I bought into it and thought it was engaging and emotional.

The L.A. Times' review of The Fall:

I'll pass.

Just got back from this. Finally a theater with an hour and a half drive to see it. Loved it. I also disagree with the DVDtalk review regarding the acting. That little girl stole my heart she was so endearing. Can't wait for the DVD hopefully cover the rather large back story on its making.

exactly - she acted like herself and as a child would, anything else would have been phoney - I thought she was perfect.


as for the film, I was floored. thumbs up in my book.

I wasn't in town (last Saturday night) but apparently Tarsem was in town at both Landmark Bethesda and E Street for post screening Q&A's

Yeah, NO WAY was that kid being coached. I've never EVER seen a more natural child performance. It was like there were using a hidden camera and the two were just having a conversation. Outstanding work! I loved the film too. Saw it in a crappy theater and on a crappy screen thought (Reston stinkin Town Center). Not my choice, but a friend I saw it with couldn't do any other theater. This will look spectacular on Blu-Ray.

funny you should say that - I literally said to a friend after the film - I am sooo buying this on bluray. Unlike what some critics have said, I thought both the imagery and the characters were intriguing.

They did kind of do that.

I finally got to see this and I loved it! The little girl was great-not annoying at all but very natural and adorable. Lee Pace is excellent, too.

I was surprised at the amount of humor in the movie. I loved Darwin's introduction.

I'll probably have to go back and see this again soon.

I thought their realistic conversations were Altmanish....


GIGGLES,
any word on the Russian DVD?

Saw this tonight. Absolutely loved it. The little girl was fantastic, and I loved the way Tarsem interwove the story with the reality. This is the movie I expected to see when I first saw Pan's Labyrinth. Of course, I love Pan's Labyrinth for what it is, but the trailers made it seem more like the kind of mix of fantasy and reality that The Fall was.

Any updates on release dates? Ebert's column left me wating to see it.

I took it to mean that the girl was

It may have stalled a bit, it's currently at 111 theaters and only grossing a bit under $2500 per theater over the weekend, that doesn't look good for its future.

On the plus side, Lionsgate is apparently handling the DVD release, so that bodes well for a high-def version, as well. Not all of us are privileged to live in areas that get limited release films, so I'm hoping for the best possible presentation on disc.

poor theatrical release may mean quick dvd release, yay!

Saw this yesterday and loved it. So far it's my favorite movie of this year. Anyone who passes on this because of a few negative reviews is missing out on one of the most gorgeous films ever made. Really wonderful stuff.

My indie theatre doesn't even have The Fall, which is really disappointing. I'd have to go to Philly (35 minutes to center city) to see it, which I'm not doing. I really want to see this too.

This film is certainly worth the 35 mins drive; it has to be seen on the big screen.

If anyone I knew were interested in non-Hollycrap movies, I'd make the drive.

Finally saw it and loved it. My favorite film so far this year. I liken it more to The Princess Bride in terms of it's narrative/fairy-tale structure. It's darker though and deals with more real world issues. Tarsem was smart to keep the story so simple. I don't see how it was pretentious at all. It had a wonderful and surprising sense of humour. Which really kept the film from thinking too much of itself.

I saw it, enjoyed the visuals from the amazing locations/scenery and in-camera effects (CGI was only used sparringly to clean up some shots in post), and the use of natural light cinematography and the interesting angles. Director Tarsem does a lot with a little with his penchant for visual flair in filmmaking over the course of many years in making this film.

The story itself lacked a little narrative weight for me to invest as fully as I had hoped in the main characters Roy and Alexandria who meet as patients in a hospital in 1915. Roy (Lee Pace, then unknown, but has found steady work of late as an actor) is injured and paralyzed in the lower extremities, and Alexandria has a broken arm, both of them suffered their injuries from a fall (one of many nods to the film's title). The performance of Alexandria, played by 5 year old (at the time) Catinca Untaru, is really endearing, and captured well, as the passage of time has a way of layering on bits of self-awareness that would have made her performance a little too self-aware had she had been older in the role.

It can be a polarizing film, but I did admire the attempt to create a somewhat timeless look to the film that can be appreciated ten, twenty years in the future without it losing a sense of it being dated or a project found in a time capsule.

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.

P.S. From what I've read so far, I think the making of this film would be the subject of a very interesting documentary as well.