The Jakarta Post
by Iskandar Liem
December 2007
At this year's JiFFest, three internationally renowned South Asian directors showcase their latest works, none of which is a Bollywood musical typical of the region.
It would be fair to say that whenever India or Pakistan is mentioned in the same breath as cinema, the immediate thing that springs to mind are melodramatic Bollywood musicals, usually featuring a ruggedly handsome male protagonist portrayed by a famous actor surnamed Khan.
Three directors from this region have managed to break out of this stereotype, sometimes telling stories outside of their backgrounds, yet each time managing to incorporate elements of their own cultures, with varying degrees of success.
Unlike Mira Nair, the other India-born director showcasing his latest film at this year's JiFFest didn't rise to prominence from feature films. Tarsem Singh (or simply "Tarsem" as he is professionally known) gained much attention when he directed the MTV Music Award-winning music video for R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion", which was followed by his feature film debut, The Cell, almost a decade later.
To call The Fall, Tarsem's sophomore silver screen effort, a visual feast would be a great understatement. The story of Roy (Lee Pace), a paralyzed stuntman spinning an elaborate yarn to a little fellow patient Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) in a 1920s Los Angeles hospital ward, it switches back and forth effortlessly from the real world to the imaginary, where Roy tells of five larger-than-life heroes exacting vengeance on a common nemesis. Gradually, Roy's motive for telling the little girl his stories starts to surface and the unlikely pair begin to bond. However, as the line between fantasy and reality blurs, a life-or-death decision has to be made by the bedridden protagonist.
The vividly realized realm of Roy's stories is the definite highlight of the movie. Shot in 23 countries (including Indonesia), the fantasy scenes have an ethereal quality to them, like a cross between a Caravaggio painting and Baraka, thus creating visual metaphors that are actually significant to the film's story (unlike The Cell, where similar scenes exist mainly as eye candy).
Great chemistry between the two leads, most notably the young Untaru -- who balances precociousness and adorability well, also adds dimension to the storyline without being upstaged by the jaw-dropping film sets.
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