In a sea of formulaic film fads full of replace heroes and exchangeable plots, it’s getting harder and harder to find films that are truly fantastic, fabulous and fascinating. But they are out there, and one such film which I have seen only this year, is Tarsem Singh’s 2006 film The Fall.

The frame story is that of a curious little girl in a hospital in 1920s Los Angeles, who befriends a fellow patient, an injured stuntman (played by Lee Pace). He tells her a fantastic story of five peculiar heroes on a quest to find a woman. In her imagination, she sees the stuntman as the leader of the heroes, and eventually both narrative levels take on interesting parallels. Both levels are brilliant in their own way, but what makes this film really come alive is the absolutely stunning scenery and the amazing cinematography. The film was shot on location all over the world; primarily in India, Namibia, Turkey, Indonesia and Argentina, but in so many more places. I just have no words for the visual beauty of this film.

thefall

And while you might think that all this overwhelming beauty might just be there to compensate for some lack, you are wrong: the opposite is the case. This film will not only make you weep for its beauty, it also has a fantastically executed plot on all narrative levels. I can’t say more without spoiling the film, so consider this a recommendation to watch it. Now.