Movie · 2006 · Adventure, Fantasy, Drama · 1h 57m · R · English
Curator score: 8.5/10 (297.9K ratings)
A little blessing in disguise.
Overview
In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.5/10
IMDb: 7.8/10
Letterboxd: 4.23/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
Metacritic: 64
TMDB: 7.6/10
Director
Tarsem Singh
Production
Googly Films, Absolute Entertainment, RadicalMedia, Tree Top Films, Deep Films
Cast
Lee Pace, Justine Waddell, Daniel Caltagirone, Leo Bill, Sean Gilder, Julian Bleach, Marcus Wesley, Robin Smith, Jeetu Verma, Catinca Untaru, Kim Uylenbroek, Aiden Lithgow, Ronald France, Emil Hostina, Andrew Roussouw, Michael Huff, Grant Swanby, Ayesha Verman, Ketut Rina, Camilla Waldman
Where to watch
MUBI
Curator Review
Verdict
A visually extravagant fantasy-drama that uses a child’s imagination to turn a hospital bedside story into something mythic, sad, and deeply romantic. It’s as much about storytelling, grief, and emotional rescue as it is about spectacle.
Best for
Viewers who love lush, painterly visuals and dreamlike fantasy
People drawn to movies about storytelling, grief, and healing
Fans of emotionally intense, romantic, slightly tragic cinema
Anyone who wants a film that feels like a fairytale and a fever dream at once
Skip if
You want a tightly plotted, conventional adventure story
You dislike stylized visuals or heightened melodrama
You prefer fantasy worlds with strict logic and clean exposition
You’re not in the mood for a bittersweet, emotionally manipulative cry
Overview
The Fall is one of those films that feels less designed than conjured. Tarsem Singh builds a storybook world out of pain, longing, and childhood imagination, and the result is both fragile and overwhelming. It’s a movie about how stories can seduce, comfort, and transform the people who tell them and the people who hear them.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is the collision of spectacle and intimacy. The imagery is lavish, but the emotional engine is simple: a wounded man, a lonely child, and a tale that keeps changing shape as their bond deepens. The film’s romance, sadness, and self-awareness give it a strange sincerity beneath all the visual excess.
Bottom line
It can feel mannered, even overripe, but that’s part of its spell. If you respond to cinema as an act of wonder, and to fantasy as a way of processing heartbreak, The Fall is a beautiful, singular experience.
Top Letterboxd reviews
doinkdedoink (5★) · 9241 likes
s(he) be(lie)ve(d)
Mari (5★) · 4836 likes
the most perfect movie for when you need a good cry or when you wanna fall in love with lee pace
francesca 💾 (5★) · 4618 likes
are you trying to save my soul?
and doesn't she? doesn't she save him?
👽hayley👽 (5★) · 4119 likes
LEE PACE WEARING EYELINER
mary🦋 (4.5★) · 4044 likes
They went to shoot in over 20 countries, had the most extravagant costumes and colors, created the most mindblowing imagery... and still the most beautiful thing remains lee pace’s eye acting