My new post is a review on the Fallen DVD, a war film with a difference and well worth watching.
In 1944 the war was moving to Italy with the Germans trying to take control of the country. The Italian people are not happy about it and set up their own group of men, the Partisans who try to stop the German invasion. There are however, some Italians who have joined forces with the Germans to win the war and they are happy to be under German control. The Germans are having a tough time trying to push through Italy and take the country and they are now going to be faced with the Americans who are getting closer.
The American forces are trying to save Italy so are not the enemy of the Partisans but the small supply unit are finding it hard to deliver the supplies needed in this dangerous place.
How is the war seen through the eyes of these three different groups and how will they deal with that faces them?
The plot summery which I have written for this film really is only very basic and there is a lot more to discover from watching but I was at a loss on how to get more across without giving to much away for those who may not have seen this film yet. The story was very good and it was nice to see parts of the war through the eyes of all the different sides involved and not just how the Americans ‘won it’ for us. We did get to see the normal soldiers and how they dealt with what faced than and for me this was a very interesting twist on the usual war films and it was made very believable for me.
The acting was very good and we had a whole variety of characters. The man ones for me were the American supply team, they were not the most featured in the film but I remember them more as they were the only group who spoke English. A few of the actors included, Daniel Asher, C J Barkus and Matthew Black. They were all strong characters and made their roles believable. I found I could relate well to them and understand their emotions. There were a few places when thought they were over playing the parts slightly but this did not happen very often. They all delivered their lines with conviction and came across as having a good military understanding. There were times when I felt they cold have given a little more emotion when they were in fighting scenes and people were being killed but overall a good team of actors.
The Italians and Germans were also very good in their roles, there were not all too different from the Americans but they seemed to have a doubt about the war right from the start of the film and it was as if they were prepared to loose from then. I would have liked more determination from them and stronger lines to make them appear as the hard soldiers we were told about. I enjoyed the fact that they both spoken in their own languages as this made it easier for me to differentiate the two nationalities as their uniforms were very similar. They all managed to delver their lines well and worked very well with the weapons and action scenes.
The film was based in Italy and therefore we had some wonderful scenery. The country was shown in a very pleasant way an did loved seeing the countryside and the old fashioned basic way of life for the locals. The film did not have many inside shots but I am glad about this as the outside ones were much nicer. The scenery and props really helped me get a feel for the 1940’s and it was very easy to see what time frame we were in right from the start of the film. The old fashioned uniforms were all very detailed and good, hubby commented on how realistic they all looked. The weapons were also authentic for the time of this film.
This is a war film so there is a lot of action involved but I am pleased to say that it does not happen for the entire film and there is a lot of the story which does not involved fighting but when it does come it is excellently made. The special effects were superb and they looked so real. There were a few times when I had to look away as we got a few gruesome scenes with people having limbs blown off but I think this just goes to show how well and realistic all the effects were.
The music was quite strange, it was good and pleasant but it really did not seem to fit in. we had some lovely light orchestral tracks played but they appeared when men were fighting with each other and for me it just did not work and fit together well, I think the music could have been a lot stronger for the film as it would have helped with the story telling and emotions of the characters.
The DVD we have does have a small amount of bonus features which include, Hit and Run: the making of ‘The Fallen’ and Film trailer. I have not watched these so I am not able to make comment on them, they are also standard features on the DVD so you will not have to pay extra to watch them.
The running time of the film is 106 minutes and the rate is a 15, I agree with the rate as there is a lot of strong language and moderate war violence. The DVD can be bought for under £5 now, we paid just £3 for ours from Tesco.
I am happy to give this film 4 stars, the stories were good and the way we got the three different sides of the one story was interesting. I have dropped one star as I did not like the music and felt it did not work with the film and also for the fact that there are a lot of subtitles which may put people off watching this. Recommended by both me and hubby.
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