The Fallen

I really enjoyed this film. It was sad and funny and tragic and many other things as well. It reminded me of the hallelujah trail (Burt Lancaster)with loads of people wandering around looking for each other. Eventually they find each other whether they want to or not and a number of them end up dead (this being unlike the Hallelulah Trail). I liked the way that lots of the characters wanted out but kept on going despite their fears.I imagine this is true of most combatants. Some people are heroes (see Audie Murphies Films)but most people are just people. There were a number of stereotypes but then this is also true of life. Wherever you go you meet people who fit these stereotypes. It was a very human film.

As with most independent features, shot with an ultra low budget, I entered the screening of Letters from the Dead / Fallen with lower expectations than I would have of a Hollywood war movie. However I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the film as it was unlike most conventional war movies, which tend to tell the historical aspect of the war. What this film achieves is to bring the war down to a personal level for the audience. This is done through sensational acting from the whole cast and excellent directing from Ari Taub, who chose to tell the story in both German and Italian, shying away from the commercial idea of using only English (so that American's don't have to read the subtitles). I left the cinema with a better understanding of how the war affected the individual soldier because Ari Taub has created a very refreshing and truthful film that I would recommend anybody to go and see.

Catharina Widell 17st September 2004

I thought that making a movie showing three points of view, was a brave choice, by the director, considering the history which took place during the war. Showing brave men fight for a losing cause, made the message of war and its purpose senseless. I didn't hate the Nazi soldiers, I felt sorry for them, which is quite a feat. Kudos all around to a well directed, acted and written story. I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind. I am not aware of what the budget of this film was but it had to be expensive considering all of the equipment, trucks and ammo that had to be used in this shoot. Though it is an independent film, it comes across like a studio project. I was also aware that there were no famous names in the project which helped me stay focused on the film without having to overcome the familiar mannerisms which a celebrity brings to a role.

This is a very entertaining, and affecting, movie that takes the points of view of ground troops on three sides of World War II (American, German, and Italian) -- each coming into contact with the others -- but the movie focuses on their own personal lives which, when compared one to the other are surprisingly similar. The director, Ari Taub, tells this story with a humorous and quirky touch, showing us the human qualities of our enemies and suggesting that if we ever did humanize our enemies wars would be a lot harder to fight.

There are several story lines to follow here, and the film weaves in and out of each effortlessly -- no small feat. With a cast of -- I'm guessing here -- 50 or so speaking roles (each very well played), I was impressed at the skill of storytelling and the scope attempted on a minimal, truly independent, film budget. There is a "light touch" to the comedy in this movie, and while you might find yourself caught up in the exploits and quirky adventures of the different sets of "heroes", there is more at work here than that: without being preachy, Taub is showing us the futility, the madness, and the human comedy that is war.

I enjoyed this movie a lot, and it's worth checking out if it lands at a film festival or video store near you.

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.