EXCLUSIVE: Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi is set to re-release Tarsem‘s cult 2006 film The Fall in a newly restored 4K version from 27 September 2024 in the US, Canada, Latin America, the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Benelux, Turkey and India. The Match Factory is handling sales for the rest of the world.
The 4K restoration will have its world premiere at this year’s Locarno Film Festival where it will play on the Piazza Grande. Mubi will subsequently stream it on its service.
Set in Los Angeles, circa 1920s, the visually striking movie charts the story of an immigrant girl in a hospital recovering from a fall who strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man. He captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination.
Filmed over four years in 20 different locations across the globe, the movie starred Lee Pace (Foundation, Captain Marvel), Catinca Untaru and Justine Waddell. The film was originally presented by David Fincher and Spike Jonze, with a script from Dan Gilroy and Nico Soultanakis.
Reviews were mixed for the film and it failed to ignite at the box office, but its visuals were highly praised and Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars, calling it a singular work: “You might want to see [it] for no other reason than because it exists. There will never be another like it,” he said.
After debuting at Toronto back in 2006, the film became very hard to track down on streaming services and director Tarsem recently expressed hope the feature would soon get a revival.
Tarsem Singh, known as Tarsem, is also known for movies such as The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez, The Immortals starring Henry Cavill, Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts and Self/less with Ryan Reynolds. The filmmaker is also well known for his music videos, including REM’s Losing My Religion, which won MTV’s Best Video Award. In 2023, he directed his first feature film in Punjabi, Dear Jassi which won the Platform Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
