Tarsem’s (Dhandwar Singh) astonishing self-financed film The Fall is an extravagant, mutilayered fantasy that travels through time and across the world—23 different countries, to be precise. The Fall takes place both in a hospital and in the mind of a young patient whose vivid imagination brings to life the fanciful story of heroes, princesses, and horrible villains told to her, Scheherazade-style, by a fellow patient—an unhappy young movie stuntman who is also convalescing. As the stories become wilder and more riotous, the young girl (played by the marvelous Catinca Untaru) becomes completely absorbed. Tarsem, born in Punjab, India, studied at the Art Center in Pasadena before becoming an internationally celebrated director of commercials and music videos. The Fall is his second feature.
Organized by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film.