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princess-zzuko · 5 years

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The Fall

I could not think of a clever word play that would combine the idea of film adaptation with the actual film itself, but that’s okay because I love this movie so much I don’t care.

The Fall

Director: Tarsem Singh

After a young immigrant worker (Alexandria) and stunt double (Roy) take a fall that land them hospitalized, they form a bond through Roy’s storytelling skills.

Before I get into why I love this film and why no one else’s opinions matter (lol just kidding), we talked about some things in class.

This film has allegory and connections to history. The epic portion of it mirrors the Wizard of Oz as it features a group of misfit bandits on their journey to find someone. In the film’s case it’s “the evil governor Odious”. It’s an extravagant and visually stunning film. Even more (and my favorite element of the film) is that Alexandria becomes a part of Roy’s story. She adds the childlike, whimsical, and comedic elements of this epic story.

When it comes to films this large, and with so many stories to tell we wondered who is the author? Or who gets authorship. As far as the film goes, there is a diverse cast. But the white hero is the one who not only tells the story, but the only one of the bandits to survive by the end of it. So is it just diversity for diversity sake? Or does the diversity of the movie lead to a greater connection of the film and audience?

We also discussed an essay by Shelly Cobb, “Adaptation, Fidelity, and Gendered Discourses,” Adaptation. Cobb claimed that the language used to discuss film adaptation is culturally constructed and biased. And it is biased particularly against femininity. For instance, films that are considered cliché, or overdramatic are associated with women. Such as movies from the Lifetime channel, or drama movies in general. When we think of cliché films, we think of middle aged stay at home moms, because that’s the audience they gear towards. These films are considered low class and of no value. Oh and they are super formulaic (which adds to the no value meter). But films with a heavy male authorship rarely get coded as such, even if they are just as formulaic as Lifetime films.

For instance, Marvel movies. A fellow student even said that Marvel films are just as formulaic as Lifetime films but Lifetime films actually give their female characters agency.

And films geared towards women are less likely to get awards, whether or not they stood up against the competition in the box office.

Even the language we use to describe people who obsess over a film or figure gendered.

Fan girl

Over emotional

Low class

And that’s not to say that films by men can’t be considered low class either, we’ve just noticed a correlation between how films with female authorship are treated versus films with male authorship as a whole.

Cobb also analyzed the morality of adaptation critiques. A good, pure film is one that stays loyal to the original text. A cheap, low quality film adaptation is unfaithful. And this is what we believe today. Take Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and Avatar the Last Airbender for example. Those two film adaptations are considered lowly, cheap, terrible. Fans of the original text spit on these movies. Even the author of Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan, hates the film adaptations of his book series.

Which makes me wonder if it’s possible for an adaptation to be good, even if it’s disloyal to the original?

We also discussed authorship and how males tend have authorship over films and females have authorship over books.

Men worked back in the day and women weren’t really allowed to do much but they could read and write and that is what they did and that is how they made it through the day. At least that’s how I imagined it to be like back then. And by back then I mean Charlotte Brontë back then.

Then film came about and that had technological aspects to it so that quickly became a men’s world, and still is today.

And what about the idea of the auteur? How these male filmmakers will adapt films from novels by female authors, yet the male will get the credit for being an auteur because he revitalized it into a work of moving genius?

Then there’s the idea that you can’t love something and be a critic. Your love for that film will filter what you say about it, and your critique is not valid. I don’t agree. I think it’s important to see a film through an objective and subjective lens. It is difficult, but very possible.

Now back to the greatest film I’ve watched all year, The Fall.

This film has two voices, Alexandria and Roy. Our professor asked us if we thought it did a good job at telling multiple stories. I think it does a wonderful job of telling both of the main character’s stories, and it does it so masterfully too.

The movie begins with a slow motion, black and white sequence detailing the event that leads Roy into the hospital. I liked it because it showed but didn’t tell. Even the movie doesn’t explicitly state his injuries in the beginning but leads you to certain clues through clever dialogue that flows with the story.

The same is for Alexandria’s story. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when she (a five-year-old girl) translates for her mother, who only speaks Spanish. Here we not only get a glimpse of how grown up she has to be even for her tender age, but the difference between how others treat her versus how Roy treats her (and btw he treats her like she’s her age).

And here is my other favorite scene.

youtube

Then there’s the spectacular of Roy’s story. We deep dive into an adventure tale mirroring that of a historic epic. This features an ex-slave, an Italian explosive expert, a dude named Darwin with a monkey, Roy as a mask wearing bandit, and a mystic. Oh and a female love interest.

This is where the storytelling gets spotty for me. Although diversity of the bandits is very cool and I love diversity and want more of it in media, I’m not sure what it’s connection is to the story. I’m not sure if it’s trying to make a statement or if it’s just being a great movie with great actors and a great plot. Although we learn about the bandits’ origins we don’t hear much from them afterwards. Then it appears that their stories are being filtered through the white male point of view. And that their stories have little to no use to the overall plot except for the fact that they were all wronged by governor Odious.

And then there’s the female love interest.

She’s literally so useless I forgot she was in the movie at all. And this says a lot about the male perspective as well. I couldn’t tell if her character was supposed to be a satire on how women are treated as props in the film industry. Because she is literally used as a prop the entire time, and dressed like one too.

Okay but also props to the costume designer for this movie, Eiko Ishioka. What an excellent job seriously. I love the costumes of this film.

But back to the princess. She’s surrounded by all these female conventions:

Soft spoken

Good with nature

Pretty

Doesn’t talk much

Is kidnapped

But falls in love with the kidnapper

Passes out

They use her to get to governor Odious

Turns out she ain’t loyal

It’s fine we didn’t need her anyway

She does nothing omg

It’s actually hilarious how useless she is.

That was my biggest problem with the movie. The use or lack thereof of its ONE older female character.

Lol, but I still love it.

In fact, I was more so connected to the main plot than the epic story. Roy and Alexandria formed a beautiful connection in the film mirroring that of a father and daughter.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry when Alexandria fell while attempting to retrieve morphine for Roy (not knowing he was trying to kill himself), hit her head and was rushed into surgery. Upon waking up she sees a tear-ridden Roy, and she apologizes for failing her mission. Then he tells her the truth and tries to end the story with the death of his comrades and himself until Alexandria says it’s her story too and that Roy’s character will live. The despair and triumph of that scene messed me up man.

Lol, but my classmates didn’t like the movie.

Thank you for reading.

Pictures used: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/

http://www.itsmugambi.com/blog/44filmsday14

https://www.tor.com/2018/06/01/ten-years-later-theres-still-nothing-like-tarsem-singhs-the-fall/

http://sanchezmaddie.weebly.com/blog/the-fall-roy

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/327777679105397729/?lp=true

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