Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

screenman 'The Fallen' offers a take on the fractured loyalties of men when things start to go wrong in war.Set in Italy, and supposedly filmed on location, a struggling German defence is being held, as the Italian army teeters on the edge of collapse. Those Latins still wearing uniform are becoming riven with doubt. Some still have a sense of duty and national pride, others now obsess over their survival and welfare of families. Many are ready to surrender or dessert and are only discouraged from either by their 'band of brothers' psychology. Meanwhile Italian partisans who never supported Il Duce or the war are growing in numbers and audacity. Yet even here there are conflicting regional, religious and political ideologies.This would be a very difficult canvas to paint even in the hands of a director who can really handle 'the big picture'. And for me, at least, it doesn't succeed. All of the characters are just a little too ordinary. The script is simplistic - which may well be true to life - but doesn't really hold the attention.Some of the filming is nicely accomplished and there is a modern-day realism to the combat and firefight sequences. But the clumsy, confused and amateurish soldiers also lend a clumsy, confused and amateurish appearance to the movie. Some of the editing is choppy, which only adds to the appearance of amateurishness.The blurb lists a run-time of 106mins. I don't know how much I watched, but it was a fair chunk, yet I simply couldn't be bothered to see it through. The blurb also quotes something called 'The Reeler' claiming it is 'Saving Private Ryan, only better'. Yeah - In yer dreams.It's the old story: I wasn't induced to care about the characters. And if you don't care about the characters, then you don't care what happens to them, ergo there is no story.Not recommended.

gopher2112 Can you believe a WWII movie was made for so little money?? I can't. I'm so used to the traditional trite Hollywood epics that are all flash and no flavor. This was an unexpected, (though not entirely palatable), treat. Some of the acting was stilted and the effects a bit too cheaply raw, but the heart was there and it shines though the fog. It takes real guts to portray all sides of such a horrible affair with dignity and respect. Even Spielberg kept at an arms length on this issue.Kudos to the brave soul who made this. I'll keep an eye out for upcoming projects for sure...

BarryPhillipsTheActor THE FALLEN was simply astonishing. Really. First; that one could get a film to LOOK like that on a Indy Budget (!!!) is remarkable; there are battle scenes, fully realized landscapes, vistas, and exteriors that are correct in period and hue. Secondly; that one was able to elicit such consistently honest performances - with great gaps in the shooting schedule (reportedly sometimes as much as 9 months) to boot! -from such a diverse cast was likewise remarkable. And this in no way discounts the beautiful incisive work of the cast.What this tells me is that Ari Taub knows what he is doing in all things filmic. The direction, look, pace, subtlety, TRUTH; every frame was realized with heart and art.A simply stellar achievement.

Graham Stanford Ari Taub takes on an immense project of independently shooting a war film set during WWII. Despite the numerous industry warnings against doing period films, Ari pulls it off with an engaging film, good characters, and an impressive production design. The production design for this film is stellar. The Italian actors are fantastic creating very engaging and likable characters. I should note here that this film is in three languages (Italian, German and English) and I applaud Ari maintaining this aspect to his story instead of making everyone speak English. The story is good, faithful to the large ensemble genre of post-WWII war film dramas. If anything, this film proves that Ari Taub is a capable, resourceful and ambitious director with a bright future and ability to deliver above expectation and means. "The Fallen" is worth a view and praise for everything accomplished by the cast, crew, and producers making this independent film.