I was quite excited about this one. It was my first choice in the German collection, judging from the cover and the recommendations from Time Out, the New York Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, but this film simply fell flat.
“I sat and fumbled empathy, searched for the climax, and begged for action, but alas, they never came, and I was left Falling through the rest of the film.”
The Rundown
Behind the name: Fallen (Also Known As)
Country: Austria, 2006
Genre: Drama
Distributed by: Kino International Corp.
Directors: Barbara Albert
Cast: Nina Proll (as Nina), Birgit Minichmayr (as Brigitte), Ursula Strauss (as Alex), Kathrin Resetarits (as Carmen), Gabriela Hegedüs (as Nicole), Ina Strnad (As Daphne)
Compare to: Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion (But drier than ever)
Hate it or Love it? Hate it L
Synopsis in a Sentence: Five women get to have a reunion when they meet at their teacher’s funeral—they may have gone separate ways, but how much have they changed?
Patience—this one requires patience.
On Writing: The Plot
A film in German, produced in Austria.
The plot’s actually not bad, but as viewers nowadays are accustomed to entertainment so that they can be entertained, the plot of this film didn’t do much of that. Actually, the plot did much of anything.
The dialogue itself wasn’t bad. It was a real production for realistic ideas through realism—but that’s the problem—that was all this film had to offer. Seasoned viewers know that for realism to be effective, equally skilful tactics in film production have to be employed. But no technique at all was used to motivate the viewers of Falling to follow the storyline. It starts with a good formula for realism—five females re-discover one another in the wake of tragedy, but it falls flat after that, with minimal connections throughout the story’s plot, virtually no climax, and no emotive motivation. Actually, the film goes on as though it doesn’t care that that a human will have to watch it one day!
(2.5/5)
On Acting: The Cast
They’re relatively good actors stuck in a story without connections; so we watch them struggle. It was hard to find a relatable character, and just when hope was rising in the horizon, the character would do a 180º and flip on you, and then you’re left wondering again—until you meet another one that does it all over again.
We were also made to wonder if this was Ina Strnad’s first film, because she was relatively disconnected from her character throughout the film.
(3/5)
On Production:
Not bad, but nothing of noteworthy mention. No particular part stood out as memorable, (*should I mention, that the cover photo is the best moment of the film) but we can appreciate the snap-shots of good moment throughout the film. J
(2/5)
On Resolution: The Conclusion
High and dry. That’s what the end leaves you feeling like, and after 88 minutes of sitting through this, you may regret not picking up some German words as the time passed by because that may have been all you got to learn (and enjoy) from Falling.
(Unless you’re going through the pains of one of these women, it’s hard to feel the empathy in the film, even then). L
(1.5/5)
The Verdict: Alas, I would only recommend this to someone stuck in a desert with nothing else for entertainment.
Overall Score = 9/20
In the end, I might be wrong about this film. See Falling for yourself and decide at a local screening [http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22027&FID=32].
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