The Fallen (2004 film)

The Fallen is a 2004 American-German-Italian war film directed by Ari Taub. The World War II film depicts the confusion of both sides in wartime Italy. The film portrays partisans and regular soldiers ineffectively coursing through the difficult mountainous terrain. The suggestive dialogue is seen with a minute portrayal of dark humor during combat where both sides are hesitant to win over the other side due to the chaotic nature of discord, disorganization and the conflicts of war in general.

Plot

A group of uniformed but inexperienced quartermasters are tasked with taking ammo to the front line. The American soldiers meet with an insane American deserter. While en route to their destination, the jeep breaks down and they abandon the jeep. Despite protestations, they commandeer the refugees' wheelbarrow, and set off cross-country on foot. The refugees get the vehicle started and make use of it themselves.

Meanwhile, the Italian troops who are treated as inferiors by their German counterparts, are given rations. The fact that they are allotted half rations causes a riot. The Germans also wish the Italians to take on the lesser task of confronting the partisans, rather than take on the Americans directly for their own gain. When the two Italian parties meet they are reluctant to fight, the partisans coerce some men to swap sides. When the Italian troops run into the pseudo-partisans, some of them become Communist sympathizers to avoid death. Their leader is shot and his two henchmen are recruited into the army.

The Americans take shelter in a farm overnight. A majority of them are of Italian descent, including one socially accepted combat-soldier who accompanies them. An alleged Scottish resident sheltering with them is actually a German spy and radios their position to the German army officer who is constantly having trouble with cut communication cables.

The Italian troops bravely resist in a confrontation with the quartermaster group, yet are later faced with a tank, killing a lead member of their group. The quartermasters reach the front line until they are requested to help with the battle by engaging the Germans directly. The Germans have the disadvantage of not directly engaging with the partisans because communication cable lines are constantly cut.

The Germans are ordered to retreat except for the commanding officer himself, one sergeant and an earlier soldier who has lost his leg in the course of combat. The volunteers stay behind knowing that they will certainly die. The main opposing officer and unnamed soldier take position in a machine gun nest for their last stand. They make a heroic effort, all dying in the process, while taking as many Americans with them as possible, finally being killed by the crazy American deserter whom we meet in the beginning of the film.

Cast

• Daniel Asher ... Lt. Watts
• C. J. Barkus ... Private Pulver
• Mathew Black ... Sgt. Hoakes
• Justin Brett ... Kinross
• Frank Licari ... Pepino

Awards

• Big Bear Lake International Film Festival 2004:
  • Audience Award - Best Feature Film: Ari Taub
• Breckenridge Festival of Film 2004:
  • Best of the Fest Award - Best Screenplay: Nick Day & Caio Ribeiro
• Milan International Film Festival 2005:
  • Audience Award - Ari Taub
  • Best Director - Ari Taub

Reviews

The film received a score of 62/100 from 7 critics on Metacritic.com.^[1] Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 86% and an average rating of 6.7/10^[2]

References

External links

• The Fallen on IMDb
• The Fallen at Rotten Tomatoes