Tarsem Singh, hands down, is one of the most gifted directors in today's Hollywood combining traditions of Eastern film-making with vital elements of the "movie picture Americana". But folks, why did it take eight years for you to recognize this? The Cell, his first feature-length movie, was just as perfectly crafted as The Fall. Both of them, with their unique color schemes, bold set and costume design, have since inspired innumerable visual artists, from fashion photographers to haut couture designers. And if I got started I would never get to the end of that list, believe me.
The Fall is the embodiment of visual perfection. Mesmerizing and blood curdling. The colors are complementing each other like never before in movie history. They are a treat to the eyes like Mozart chocolate is to the taste buds. Copycats might have followed, but this is the real thing. Or, was it The Cell where it all began? What better answer to find to this question than the fact that Tarsem is caught repeating himself a hefty number of times in The Fall - some frames are like they were direct outtakes from his previous work. The emerging head from the water, the dunes and the dried out desert lake, the horse-riding - I have seen them all in The Cell. However, this time, the twenty-something countries that had served as shooting locations are really making your jaw drop to the floor. All my respect goes out to the location scouts and location managers. Marvellous job! What an inconceivable logistic nightmare it could have been.
The plot, however, left a few question-marks in me. I saw a few loose ends left hanging in the air. Well, I did not seem to quite understand the role of the women in the story, in the first place. At times, it seems that everything revolves around them, then, all of a sudden, they become secondary to the revenge oath. I do not understand why Roy changes his mind about the fate of his Blue Bandit character either. It is inevitable, the change I mean, from our point of view - otherwise we would not be able to learn where all the characters originated from -, but it does not come naturally from his predicament. Also inconclusive is the act - in the first half of the film - of the five sworn men to free the slaves in the desert as well as the princess but leave her 10- year-old nephew behind to die.
All in all, this is a really spectacular movie of epic size, with a few minor inconsistencies. A must see for photographers, creative directors, fashion designers and all other visual artists.
The Fall is the embodiment of visual perfection. Mesmerizing and blood curdling. The colors are complementing each other like never before in movie history. They are a treat to the eyes like Mozart chocolate is to the taste buds. Copycats might have followed, but this is the real thing. Or, was it The Cell where it all began? What better answer to find to this question than the fact that Tarsem is caught repeating himself a hefty number of times in The Fall - some frames are like they were direct outtakes from his previous work. The emerging head from the water, the dunes and the dried out desert lake, the horse-riding - I have seen them all in The Cell. However, this time, the twenty-something countries that had served as shooting locations are really making your jaw drop to the floor. All my respect goes out to the location scouts and location managers. Marvellous job! What an inconceivable logistic nightmare it could have been.
The plot, however, left a few question-marks in me. I saw a few loose ends left hanging in the air. Well, I did not seem to quite understand the role of the women in the story, in the first place. At times, it seems that everything revolves around them, then, all of a sudden, they become secondary to the revenge oath. I do not understand why Roy changes his mind about the fate of his Blue Bandit character either. It is inevitable, the change I mean, from our point of view - otherwise we would not be able to learn where all the characters originated from -, but it does not come naturally from his predicament. Also inconclusive is the act - in the first half of the film - of the five sworn men to free the slaves in the desert as well as the princess but leave her 10- year-old nephew behind to die.
All in all, this is a really spectacular movie of epic size, with a few minor inconsistencies. A must see for photographers, creative directors, fashion designers and all other visual artists.