The "falling" image
in The Fall is a fantasy film, and there are many metaphors in The Fall. In addition to the connection between reality and the fabricated story in the film, the image of the fall repeats from the beginning of the film to the end. Use the image of the fall in the different stages of the plot development of The Fall, the continuity of the film; the audience’s understanding of the theme of the film, that is, Roy (Lee Pace)’s entanglement in life choices and tribute to the film’s stunt performers; emphasized by repetition Subject; all contribute.
Basically, there are four layers of falling imagery in the film, and each layer is closely connected to the plot development, and the audience's feelings are also affected by the plot.
The first fall scene is the fall of a piece of paper, which is very interesting because this is how Alexandria (Cantinca Untaru) met Roy. The first scene where they actually mentioned the word "falling" was when Roy asked Alexandria why he was hospitalized. She explained that she fell while picking the oranges, and Roy responded that so did I. In the first stage, the fall is just the actual physical process. The two protagonists establish a connection due to the same falling experience of the paper falling and reality. Moreover, the audience will want to know why Roy fell and how it relates to the subject. This suspense leads the audience to seek answers.
As the plot developed, Roy began to tell Alexandria the story. The first scene where someone fell was in Roy's story, where the wife of an Indian ran away from the leader. As a storyteller, Roy commented: "This is the only way out." Then Lan Xia also escaped by jumping the bridge. Two escapes, two different endings: dead or alive. Although falling can lead to death, the woman and Blue Man, or Roy himself, think this is a way to freedom. For the women in Roy's story, freedom is only on the physical level; for Roy, freedom is on the psychological level. In the second stage, the fall represents a way to pursue freedom and implies Roy's suicidal tendency because he wants to escape from the cruel reality. At this moment, the theme of the movie is finally revealed: it is about the choice and struggle in Roy's heart. Although we still don't know where his suicidal thoughts came from, we may be more eager to discover how it will end in the end.
The turning point occurred when Alexandria fell from her chair. This scene is cross-played with the scene of Roy falling and breaking his leg, and the scene of Alexandria's father falling from a horse. The same thing about these scenes is that they failed to do something: Alexandria failed to get Roy pills, Roy failed to do stunts as an actor, and Alexandria's father failed to protect their home. Their failures are all based on falling. So in the third stage, falling refers to failure. We also learned about Roy's past from the previous scenes and realized that he wanted to commit suicide because he fell, that is, he failed, failed in his career as a stuntman, and failed in the relationship with his girlfriend. Now the audience is more curious about Roy's final choice and how he reacted to Alexandria's fall.
Finally, the climax of the film comes near the end. Roy killed everyone in his story and gave the story a sad ending. When each character falls to death, there are many falling shots: the middle shot of Darwin falling, the distant shot of the Indian falling, and the close-up end of the red man falling. The scene of the fall is beautiful but full of cruelty. Especially when the protagonist Red Man fell into the water, showing his extreme despair in slow motion. At this stage, falling implies death.
At the same time, some images opposite to the fall appeared. For example, the upward movement implies a struggle to survive. Another example is that Alexandria has been shouting "get up", which represents the desire to survive. Roy's "I can't get up" line not only refers to his inability to stand up physically, but also refers to his inability to face failure psychologically. These two contradictory images, ups and downs, have always existed as potential drama conflicts, but the first time they formally appeared before the audience as a sign of climax. Then there was a sudden change. Alexandria asked Roy not to die, and the Red Man stood up from the water. Roy's choice was finally made. He will not give up his life by falling.
At the end of the film, there are some black and white clips of stunt actors falling. The meaning of falling returns to falling in the physical sense at this time, echoing the beginning. The audience also realizes that the hidden theme of the film is a tribute to the stuntman.
By reviewing the development of the plot, we can see three main reasons for the use of falling imagery in the film.
The first reason is that, as a clue, this image maintains the continuity of the film. At first glance, The Fall seems to be a theme structure, because the theme of falling has appeared so many times. In fact, the director used a fairly traditional way to advance the story. It's more like a linear structure, in chronological order. What is unusual about this film is that it has a story in a story. I don't think these two stories are parallel because they are connected by images rather than being independent. Jumping back and forth in the real and imaginary world may confuse the audience. So we need something unchanging to focus the theme of the film. The image of falling is this fixed point. It appears as a clue at every stage of the development of the plot, allowing the audience to keep up with the plot by focusing on the fall.
The second reason is that the image of the fall allows the audience to better understand the theme of the film: Roy's inner struggle. As analyzed before, falling represents different meanings: in the physical sense, freedom, failure, and death. Each is emphasized at different stages of the film, so that the audience can step into Roy's thoughts step by step. At first we discovered that his suicidal tendency was because in his fantasy world, the action of falling may lead to death, but it meant freedom and relief for him. Then we discovered that the reason why he wanted to commit suicide was a double failure in his career and love, because in his heart, the fall itself was a symbol of failure. Finally, when he fell in the story, he changed his mind. We can feel that when faced with the process of falling (death), Alexandria's love gave him hope of life. As mentioned above, by clarifying the meaning of the falling image, we can better understand the protagonist’s thoughts, motives and choices. Moreover, the fall of the physical process is also related to the theme of paying tribute to the stuntman. This is why the title of the film is also falling. This kindly reminds you to pay attention to the image of the fall.
The third reason is that by repeating the image of the fall, the audience has a deeper impression of the theme of the film. For example, at the tragic end of Roy's story, a large number of repeated falling scenes create a shocking effect for the audience. It seems that death is the unavoidable end for everyone, and we can also feel the same despair that Roy had at the time. So when the mutation came, we were very happy and celebrated that Roy did not decide to commit suicide. Moreover, there are many clips at the end of the film showing stunt actors doing stunts, paying tribute to their contribution to the film. We can see them falling from horses, trains, and bridges all the time. These repetitive images make us realize how easy it is to ignore the efforts of these actors and how much they have made in countless movies.
In summary, the imagery of the fall in The Fall is closely related to the development of the plot, which arouses the audience's interest in exploring the theme of the film. The director cleverly used it as a clue throughout the film and also led to the theme, which made it easier for the audience to follow the rhythm of the film and made it look more impressive.
The symbolism of “falling” in The Fall
As a fantasy movie, there are a lot of symbols and metaphors in The Fall (2006). Except for the correlations between the reality and the made-up story in the movie, the idea of “falling” keeps showing up from the movie's beginning to the end. Using the symbolism of “falling” at different stages of plot development in The Fall makes great contribution to the continuity of this movie, the audience's better understanding of the movie's main theme, which are the struggle of life choices in Roy's ( Lee Pace) mind as well as a salute to all stuntmen in motion pictures, and emphasis on the theme by repetition.
Basically, there are four layers in the symbolism of “falling” in this movie and each of them is closely related to the development of plot in which the audience is emotionally involved.
The first scene of falling is the fall of a piece of paper, which is interesting because that's how Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) meets Roy. The first scene in which they actually mention the word “fall” is when Roy asks why Alexandria is in hospital . She explains that she falls while picking oranges and Roy replies as “me too”. At the first stage, “falling” only means the actual physical process. The two main characters establish a relationship because of paper “falling” and the same experience of real falling. Besides, audience may start to wonder why Roy falls and its relation to the theme. That's a suspense leading audience to seek for the answer.
As the plot develops, Roy begins to tell Alexandria that story. The first scene of a person falling is the scene of the Indian's wife escaping from the governor in Roy's story. As a narrator of this story, Roy comments: “It's the only way out." Later, Blue Bandit (Emil Hostina) also escapes by jumping from a bridge. Two escapes with two different endings: death or live. Although falling can lead to death, the woman and Blue Bandit, or Roy himself, consider it as a way to freedom. For the woman in Roy's story, the freedom is on physical basis; for Roy, the freedom is in psychological sense. At the second stage, the “falling” represents the way of pursuing freedom and indicates Roy's trend of suicide because he wants to escape from the cruel reality. This is the moment when the theme of this movie finally reveals:it is about choices and struggle in Roy's mind. Although we still don't know about where his suicidal thoughts come from, we may become eager to find out how it will end at last.
The turning point comes as Alexandria falls from the chair. And this frame cross-dissolves with the scene in which Roy falls and breaks his leg as well as the scene in which Alexandria's father (Emil Hostina) falls from a horse. The identical idea behind these three scenes is that they all fail to do something: Alexandria fails to get pills for Roy; Roy fails to do the tricks as an actor; Alexandria's father fails to protect their home. Their failures are all based on falling. Thus at the third stage, “falling” refers to failure. From the earlier scene, we also know about Roy's past and realize that he wants to suicide because he falls, which means he fails, both in career as a stuntman and in relationship with his girlfriend. Now audience gets more curious about Roy's choice at the end and how he will react to the fall of Alexandria.
Finally, the climax of this movie occurs near the end. Roy gives a tragic ending to his story by killing every character in it. There are plenty of falling shots as every character falls to death: the medium shot of Darwin's (Leo Bill) fall ; the long shot of the Indian's (Jeetu Verma) fall; the close-up of Red Bandit's (Lee Pace) fall. The falling scenes are beautiful but full of cruelty, especially the scene of the main character Red Bandit falling into water, presenting in slow motion to show his extreme desperation. At this stage, “falling” suggests death. Meanwhile, some opposing symbols of “falling” appear. For instance, the action of “climbing” indicates struggling for living. Another example is that Alexandria keeps crying out “get up”, which represents the will to live.Roy's line of “I can't get up” not only refers to his physical incapacity of standing up but also his psychological incapacity of facing his failure. These two contradictory symbols, rise and fall, exist there for the whole time as potential dramatic conflict but first officially appears in front of the audience as a sign of climax. Then here comes peripeteia in this movie when Alexandria asks Roy not to die and Red Bandit stands up from the water. Roy's choice is eventually made. He will not give up his life by “falling”.Then here comes peripeteia in this movie when Alexandria asks Roy not to die and Red Bandit stands up from the water. Roy's choice is eventually made. He will not give up his life by “falling”.Then here comes peripeteia in this movie when Alexandria asks Roy not to die and Red Bandit stands up from the water. Roy's choice is eventually made. He will not give up his life by “falling”.
At the end of this movie, there are some clips in black and white showing stuntmen's falling. The meaning of “falling” returns to be physical falling at this point, echoing with the beginning. And the audience figures out there is a hidden theme of this movie, which is a salute to all the efforts of stunt actors.
By reviewing the process of plot development, we can clearly see three main reasons of using symbolism of “falling” in this movie.
The first reason is that it contributes to the continuity of this movie by serving as a clue. At the first sight, The Fall seems to follow a thematic structure because the theme “fall” appears so many times. In fact, the director uses a quite traditional way to push the story forward. It's more like a linear structure and follows a chronological sequence. What's usual about it is that this movie has a story within a story. I don't think that the two stories are parallel because they are connected by symbols instead of being independent. Jumping between reality and imaginative worlds frequently might make the audience confused. Therefore we need something unchangeable to make the theme of the movie focused. The symbolism of “falling” is the fixed point.It appears in every stage of plot development as a clue to make sure that the audience can easily follow up the plot by focusing on the idea of “falling”.
The second reason is that the symbolism of “falling” can help the audience understand the main theme of this movie, which is the consistent struggle in Roy's mind. As analyzed before, “falling” represents different ideas as “physical falling”,”freedom ”, “failure” and “death”. Each of them is emphasized at different stages of plot in order to let the audience step deeper and deeper in the main character Roy's thoughts. At first, we discover his suicidal thoughts because in his imagined world , the action of “falling”, which possibly leads to death, means freedom and liberation to him. Later on, we find out the reason that he wants to suicide is his double failure in love and career because in his mind, “falling” itself is a representation of failure. At last,he changes his mind during the “falling” in his story and we can feel that when facing the process of “falling”(death), it is Alexandria's love that gives him the desire to live. As is above, by making clear of the symbolic meanings of “falling”, we can have a better understanding of the main character's thoughts, motives and choices. In addition, the physical process of falling is also related to the theme of saluting to stunt actors. That's why the title of this movie is The Fall, too. It serves as a kind reminder to let you pay attention to the symbolism of “falling”.the physical process of falling is also related to the theme of saluting to stunt actors. That's why the title of this movie is The Fall, too. It serves as a kind reminder to let you pay attention to the symbolism of “falling”.the physical process of falling is also related to the theme of saluting to stunt actors. That's why the title of this movie is The Fall, too. It serves as a kind reminder to let you pay attention to the symbolism of “falling”.
The third reason is that by repeating the symbolism of “falling”, audience can have a comparatively deep impression on the movie's theme. For instance, at the sad ending of Roy's story, the repetition of intensive falling shots produce an astonishing effect for the audience . It seems that death is an inevitable ending for everyone and we can feel the same desperation as Roy does at that time. Thus we are more delighted when the peripeteia occurs and celebrate for Roy's decision of not conducting suicide. Also, at the end of the movie, there are many video clips showing the way in which stunt actors do tricks, as a salute to their contribution to motion pictures. We can see that they keep falling from the horse, the train and the bridge.These repetitive actions make us realize how easy it is to overlook these actors' effort and how much contribution that they have made in countless movies.
In conclusion, the symbolism of “falling” in The Fall has an intimate relationship with the plot development and triggers the audience's interests in exploring the movie's theme. The director cleverly use it as a clue through the whole movie and as a lead to the theme , which makes it easy for audience to follow and impressive to watch.
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