The Fall

Occasionally, we see a movie we have never heard before and be blown away. And that's us being spontaneous.

It started with a spate of uninteresting Summer shows and ended up with "The Fall," a 2006 movie by Tarsem Singh. As I was watching the vivid visual wizardry, I couldn't help but wonder whatever was I doing in 2006 that I hadn't heard about this movie. Oh right. I was moving across continents and trying to catch a foothold.

"The Fall" is a story between Alexandra, a guileful little girl with a broken arm and Roy, an injured stuntman with a death wish, whose relationship blossomed amidst the atmosphere of malaise and death. Roy's despair drove him to device an ingenuous story of 5 mythical heroes, luring Alexandria to inadvertently abet in his suicidal attempts.

Roy's fantastic tales of valor, revenge and hopelessness were paralleled with his own desperation and the depressing reality of life at the hospital. Oblivious to Roy's ultimate aim and deeply immersed in the story, Alexandria persevered with Roy's seemingly innocuous requests and at one point frantically scrambled to do his bidding in exchange for a promise from Roy to continue with the story. And from this plot emerged one of the most poignant scenes cinema has ever produced: a little girl with a broken arm taking a fall for a friend whose life she believed she was saving but in reality, she was helping to put an end.

The surreal world Roy created for himself and Alexandria were matched vividly by the movie's stunning cinematography. Bold, dramatic scenes follow one frame after another that one would be tempted to freeze-frame at random and hang the flat screen on the wall as testament to visual art.

The earnest portrayal of the lead actors, and the striking visuals elevated "The Fall" from a beautiful movie to a memorable one. Catch it if you can.