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In the autumn of 1944, in Northern Italy, the German soldiers resist to the advancement of American forces in an Italy divided in fascist soldiers, communist partisans supported by the civilians and thugs. An American platoon leaded by Sergeant Malone (John McVay) is assigned to deliver supplies to the front. Meanwhile, the German Lieutenant Gunther (Thomas Pohn) tries to keep the morale and discipline of his needy soldiers, and faces many other problems when the Italian troop leaded by the aristocratic Lieutenant Gianini (Fabio Sartor) joins his doomed troop. The thugs leaded by Rossini (Carmine Raspaolo) act like vultures, plundering the remains after the battles.

"The Fallen" is a different war movie that gives the big picture of the chaotic situation of Italy during the last days of the World War II, showing a country divided in civil war, with an unusual code of ethics between the Italian soldiers and the partisans. It is nice to have a humanistic view of the war through the three sides – Italians, Germans and Americans- at the same time. The lack of discipline of the Italian soldiers breaks the tension and gives humor to this dramatic story. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Guerra Sangrenta" ("Bloody War")

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...

What on earth was that? My family and I just waisted 2 hours of our life for this piece of rubbish !!! There was no plot, no tension, only a lot of boredom !!! My kids could do better movies with our video-camera.

But maybe we just did not get the point of the movie...oh wait, my mum did. She was the only one who liked it for the following reason: "At least a film with no cars screeching..." If you are looking for a war-film with no fighting in it, is still interesting and gripping and has a strong anti-war-message, then you should watch "The Trench".

I give this film 3 out of 10 because it is good enough for an afternoon-nap and because I am too nice...

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.

I've a lot of respect for what American director Ari Taub is at least trying in his 2004 film set during World War II, entitled The Fallen. Where directors such as Michael Bay have, in the past, been granted huge sums of money only to go on and totally miss the mark in capturing that of what warfare is; does and represents in the form of Pearl Harbor, is terrifying. Likewise, other recent films have disappointedly used the sub-genre of war as a backdrop of spectacle to unfold cheap, familiar and dreary self discovery tales, as seen in James Cameron's Avatar, that aren't particularly interesting nor smart. Given this, it is difficult not to muster up at least an ounce of knowing for those such as Taub and The Fallen, whom are trying to explore ideas and get a proper film, about something, followed through with. It's unfortunate then, that the The Fallen ends up as uninteresting and detached as it does; a plodding and dreary feature that mostly drags for all of it's little-over-an-hour-and-a-half runtime as it strives to explore the viewpoints of a handful of soldiers amongst various factions in Second World War Italy.

The key in what the film wants to do ironically lies in its own inability to properly distinguish character from character or troop from troop. The two writers, Nick Day and Caio Ribeiro, and as a consequence the film itself, are more preoccupied with the notion of entire squads of soldiers or collections of people representative of respective ideologies battling it out on the front-line of a war. The film, particularly through it's tag-line which reads: "There are three sides to every story: ours, theirs, and the truth." is about the universal struggle with life, death and everything else all troops on the battle field share as they fight and strive for each of their respective victories more than it is an exploration of the damaging physical or psychological effects more famous examples of war films from recent decades have portrayed.

The foundations of this idea are fair enough, the result is a mostly wavy and unfocused piece which makes its point fairly quickly and covers most of its bases aptly enough when doing so, but too sporadically to really immerse us. The approach additionally denies the audience a chance to map onto an individual character around which the events play out, instead opting to cover German; Italian and American troops within the rural woodlands of Italy as the proverbial net closes in on those on the wrong side towards the end of The War. We're provided with some brief introductions of each of the three parties, the Germans occupying very grey, dishevelled and desperate quarters; the toll of the war etched all over the faces and coming out in the tone of their voices. Later, a lone American trooper jogs through a local village to a large manor house guarded by plain clothed, gun wielding Italians whom stop him and question him. The American keeps his cool at gun point and gets done whatever job he was there for; his isolation from the rest of his troops and individualism in the scene displaying an ability to stay calm and get even the toughest of missions done under threat. Then comes the time to provide us with an Italian perspective, a less than glamorous depiction of Italians as exhibitionists making a racket in a natural spring with the film generally subscribing to displaying them as caricatures throughout, especially disappointing given what has been established as a film all about breaking down boundaries and creating an equal playing field to all involved.

Out on the front-line amidst the gun fire and shrapnel is Charlie Company, of the United states Army, whom are running low on supplies. A platoon of American soldiers, including the aforementioned calm head and a more psychotic soldier whom appears to be channeling Andy Serkis' Private Quinn of 2002's Deathwatch, have been rejected leave and are instead charged with delivering supplies to the front-line that'll make the crucial difference and win them the fight: all half a dozen or so small wooden boxes of it. After the truck they're meant to deliver it all in breaks down, their plight manifests into a trawling across the country side, aid in-tow. This provides their plight with a very sub-Private Ryan feel about proceedings, the film granting us a series of sequences that see the troops caught up in exchanges and various altercations or scenarios with what could or could not be the enemy. Some of which include the running into a suspicious farmyard building and the uncovering of a machine gun emplacement plus trench, each supposedly acting as the catalysts for the troops to garner first hand experience of the front. In short, it's a little patchy and mostly an uninteresting adventure; the film not really being about plot, but more-so the universal thematics; with whatever story in there not being explored nor necessarily told particularly well enough to arouse interest.

One moment does get the blood pumping, one fleeting moment does show that there is indeed power to be had somewhere in the material and it sees Italian soldiers and renegade, anti-establishment Italian soldiers come face to face in a clearing as a standoff occurs; an instance that is well directed and is accompanied by a real sense of both threat and peril. But these moments, while interesting in their brief examining of how fighting on the front morally affects those involved, are too few and far in-between; a moment in which Taub's direction sears through only to have us frustratingly realise not much else is off this level when it seemingly could have been. The film is sporadic, even discombobulated; and with little-to-no discernible narrative to elevate the material above a series of interactions and scenarios of various factions strung together, decidedly disappointing.

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.

I should admit right away that I don't like war movies. So when I was invited to see this film I went, because I knew that the person who invited me has good taste and wouldn't sponsor a film that wasn't good. I was pleasantly surprised when this film totally took hold of me. The theater was crowded, and I was very hungry with no popcorn. So when I found myself totally engrossed in this black and white film that deals with the gritty life of soldiers during World War II I was amazed. I got so involved in the lives of the men in this film that I forgot all about my hunger, and like a good novel, the film sped along to its end.

This film does a really good job of examining the lives of three different groups of soldiers, giving the audience a look at divergent points of view during wartime. Added to this is the fact that technically the film is very well done. I would say this is a war movie for people who don't usually enjoy them. All in all a very well done film for a first time director. I hope to see this placed in many more theaters so more people can see it.

I've rent the movie because i'm very fond on war movies and on the cover picture i've read " better than save private ryan"....mmmmm ...i thought cool! guys....is just a ridiculous movie. Almost fun. Nothing to do with a proper war movie. I want my money back! Why the f...k the peoples lies??????????? F NO SUBTITLES They tried to make everything cooler with the light....but they didn't make it. Sorry about this.....but the movie is awful. The italians are shown as "Mafia e mandolino"

The American as stupid farmer The Germans as even more stupid farmer.

The actor are ridiculous and unprofessional.

Please....please......

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.

"The Fallen" at first seems like an old-fashioned World War II movie, opening with almost "Hogan's Heroes"-like humor with "Milo Minderbinder" of "Catch-22" like wheeling-dealing, but gradually develops into a moving and complex portrait of soldiers.

Most English-language films we have seen about GI's interacting with locals have been in French forests, but this is set in the more complex social, political and military environment of northern Italy at the close of the war, dealt with superficially in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and almost contemporaneously in Roberto Rossellini's "Paisà", which was also a series of vignettes.

The very large ensemble that gets hard to differentiate individually includes Americans closing in on the Germans who are equally allies and occupiers to Italians buffeted by deposed fascists, Communist partisans, displaced peasants and apolitical criminals, an unusually diverse array of characters who all claim to be nationalists.

Like a Bill Maudlin cartoon, this is war from the GI's eye view; we don't see generals or hear discussions of strategy or tactics, just orders to follow. The American soldiers, as drawn by the script of Nick Day and Caio Ribeiro, are the most stereotyped from old movies, the hulking hillbilly, the Italian guy from Brooklyn who is delegated to do translations and community relations as the locals eagerly ask if he knows their cousins, the alcoholic officer in charge, etc. In the second half of the film, the Americans' portrayal sharpens up as the supply guys in the quartermaster corps are thrust into the front lines for the first time and there's less dialog and more taut action.

The German soldiers are the least stereotyped, despite many close-ups on their black crosses and Heil Hitler salutes. They are shown as professional, competent soldiers doing their job far from home in a crumbling situation, with limited supplies and manpower. Though sounding more like World War I trench movies (and characters on all sides recall relatives who were inspiring veterans), their discussions of the futility of continuing to fight are plausible and add complications to their actions.

The Italians are a mix of stereotypes and complexities. The sex-starved peasant women are just plain silly, and the Army, regardless of accurate issues of unpreparedness, looks like buffoons. The Mafiosi-like thug and his henchmen are the usual, but their interactions with the armies are interesting, even if it is never explained how they've avoided the war up to now. The refugees are both as haunted and resilient as "Mother Courage".

While far less bloody than "Saving Private Ryan", it is unpredictable what will happen to characters we get to care about and is unsparing in showing the personal devastation of war. Debut feature director Ari Taub does the fight scenes very up close and personal, and very effectively portrays a real sense of actual combat, particularly for a low-budget film.

The developing serious tone is undone many times by the melodramatic score which overemphasizes comedic elements of the absurdity of war. Period songs by interesting voices are used effectively throughout.

With each nationality speaking in their native tongues, the subtitles are black-lined and always legible. The subtitles are also thoughtfully provided even when characters are speaking English but with thick accents. Language communication issues are a key part of this story.

Remember those terrible war movies your grandmother forced you to watch 25 or so years ago on your old VHS recorder? "The Fallen" is just a bad executed remake of those movies! The story is terrible, the direction is terrible, the editing is terrible, the music is terrible, and all together make an unbearable nightmare.

It is also terribly slow! Very slow! I tried to sleep while watching it but I couldn't do it because I had nightmares of it.

Please don't watch this movie! It is THAT bad! Ten lines is a lot so I don't know what else to say.

Press the eject button NOW and you wont regret it!

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've never written a comment on IMDb before, but this movie was so bad it left me little choice but to warn you not to waste the two hours of your life. As an avid WWII historian, I don't even know where to begin on how historically inaccurate this movie was. Carbines with Korean War bayonet lugs, K98k's missing cleaning rodes and sight hoods, German uniforms that didn't exist, the list could go on forever. Added that it's loaded with flaws, has literally no plot or climax, and acting on par with your local high school theater. The epitome of cheesy.

PLEASE...there are too many good WWII movies out there to waste your time on this junk.

Someone calling themselves "Netflicks" copied and pasted the Netflix summary of this film in the Plot Summary section, so I'm basing my review on that.

This "gritty war-time drama" is more like a war-time dark comedy gone horribly and terribly wrong. There is no "unique cinematic style" and since the whole movie is in color, it certainly doesn't evoke any feeling of authentic newsreel footage. It's totally unrealistic, with bad acting, and that strange "Italian film script" that just comes off completely silly and makes no sense. With Italian films, I just never know if a given scene is dramatic or comedic because the dialog is often so ridiculous. Maybe they just always employ really bad translators, or people that aren't translating, but guessing what the actors are saying.

In addition to the above, I have five specific authenticity grievances against this one:

1. A US Army major is wearing his rank insignia on both collars of his dress uniform blouse.

2. An officer salutes a sergeant.

3. American soldiers in a camp in a combat zone walking around without any headgear.

4. An Italian partisan is carrying a Thompson M1929A1 before any Americans have been in the area. This is remotely possible, but very highly unlikely. Even the Sicilian Mafia didn't carry Thompsons, if Mario Puzo can be believed.

5. In one scene, an American soldier is working on a truck engine to try to get it working. The camera angle is from inside the engine compartment looking up, as the soldier pulls a part out of the engine. The part is a toilet tank flapper. I suppose it can be argued that there could have actually been a flapper in the engine, and that's why the truck wouldn't start, but that would be a pretty ridiculous stretch of the imagination! The "Americans" all appeared to be Italian, and they were more like the Keystone Kops than soldiers.

All-in-all, this film's low budget is painfully obvious. Excellent films have been made on shoestring budgets, such as Saints and Soldiers, but this one just doesn't try very hard to be good.

I rented this film based on my general enthusiasm for movies covering the stark subject of war. This was a very different film than any other WW2 film I've seen, and I think for the better.

As we can probably assume with all fairness, not every soldier or unit in Europe during this conflict was fighting at the front. "The Fallen" depicts an several facets of participants toward the close of the war: An American supply unit that generally behaves as if their simply waiting out the war--they know their place (in the rear with the gear) and some of the individuals are even taking advantage of it; A small and reluctant Italian regiment brought in to support a equally small, but cocky German unit; Italian "partisans" who as members of the communist party operate as guerrillas; and Italian civilians, some of whom are a bit shadowy in their activities.

The uniqueness of the historical situation in this region during the war provides that distinct difference between this film and others in the genre. It's not one huge battlefield scene after another or a storming the beaches extravaganza. There's no massive divisions. These units are the forgotten groups of soldiers from their respective armies, two of which were in their last days. Their importance in the grand scheme of the war is minor as the story told here is more common.

While some characters are a little cliché, others are more unique... particularly toward the second half of the film. They really do develop, change, and become something different than they started as.

After watching the special features "making-of" documentary on the DVD, it's amazing the movie ever happened. None of the actors were the professionals you'd expect. Hell, one of them does character work for birthday parties. Another works at a fish market. I strongly suggest anyone who rents this film watches the making-of as you'll have a much greater level of appreciation for what went into the movie.

Overall, I thought it was a decent film for what it is. I think you have to take into consideration the level of experience each actor and staff member possessed at the time. This isn't a Hollywood production by any means. But it was indeed an awesome effort by amateurs that does an excellent job of looking far bigger than it was. I have to give the makers and participants of "The Fallen" a lot of credit for their efforts.

This is definitely underrated film on this site. It gives realistic note to completely unreal and insane thing as war. That must undermine model of war built in the heads of Hollywood industry consumers. We can see the same events from different points of view. There are no spectacular battles as in Saving Private Ryan which would be most probably the Hollywood highest film achievement speaking of war movies and Hollywood buffs expectations. This film shows everything dirty that stands behind the war from the lowest moral of army individuals to organized crime that welcomes every war. Everything inhuman always followed by human and sane attempts in insane times. Very nice artistic try that reminds on times of Italian grandmasters after WWII like Rossellini. I would recommend it to everyone who doesn't watch war movie to satisfy own blood hunger.

Toward the end of WWII, the Gothic Line was looked at by both the Allied and Axis powers as an endgame in Italy. It took most of the war for the Allies to push up through Italy to this same line across the top of the Boot where the Romans held the Goths, hence the name. Germans, with the occupied (and not so cooperative) Italian Army, were on the North side, Americans and British forces were on the South. In the mix were the Italian Resistance and the local gangs of opportunists called Paisans.

The focus of this extraordinary film is on not just the combatants and their allies, but the people who were being affected by the war as well. THE FALLEN explores the unsteady relationship between authority and humanity in the military (on all sides), between allies, and between soldiers and their civilian countrymen. It does so with humor, sensitivity and grandeur. We see the conflict in human terms, whether through a lazy soldier, a stressed-out commander, or a triumphant volunteer. Also unusual, all the nationalities are played by native actors speaking the various languages, with relevant subtitles.

I look forward to seeing more from everyone on this talented team - especially Mr. Taub.

'The Fallen' is a very different type of film. Nothing before or since has carried this type of humerous vibe, but is kind of similar to 'Catch 22' (and also evident in some of the 70's, 'Italian Exploitation War' genre). Thomas Pohn, is rather excellent as a German Lieutenant and is backed up by such an odd but delightful, assortment of characters. Well worth watching if you are looking for a different experience and away from the many routine, W.W.2 offerings.

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.

Shot in 2004, The Fallen emerges at a peculiar juncture in the history of war cinema-an era defined by a shift from grandiose depictions of heroism towards a more fractured, morally ambiguous portrayal of warfare. Post-Saving Private Ryan (1998), the early 2000s saw a proliferation of WWII films that attempted to emulate its visceral intensity while also distancing themselves from the mythologizing tendencies of earlier decades. This film, however, diverges notably from that trend, opting instead for a stripped-down, micro-historical focus that attempts to unravel the confusion, banality, and disorientation of ground-level combat and occupation politics on the Italian front. Its approach is atypical for American war cinema of the time, more aligned with the introspective tonalities of certain Italian war dramas than with Hollywood's penchant for catharsis.

Cinematographically, the film exhibits a rugged, almost documentary-like aesthetic. The camera tends to linger in wide shots, letting action unfold with minimal editorial intervention, which lends a certain observational realism. The lighting is consistently naturalistic, almost oppressively so, favoring overcast skies and dim interiors that render the color palette subdued and earthy. This visual austerity enhances the thematic focus on exhaustion and moral attrition among the characters. Yet, at times, this pursuit of realism risks lapsing into flatness-there are scenes where the visual language lacks rhythm, and the pacing becomes more soporific than meditative. Still, the overall effect is in keeping with the film's refusal to aestheticize combat.

One of the film's most effective aspects is its multilingual dialogue and the way it commits to linguistic authenticity. English, German, and Italian are spoken as they would be in the diegetic reality of 1944 Italy, and the film refuses to pander by subtitling or translating in ways that would comfort the viewer. This choice, while admirable, also distances the audience from immediate emotional engagement. In this sense, it shares an ideological kinship with The Grey Zone (2001), though that film belongs to a different subgenre (Holocaust/industrial extermination) and pushes further into existential horror. In The Fallen, this multilingual strategy reinforces the absurdity of war-miscommunications, cultural dissonances, and fragmented alliances dominate the psychological landscape.

The sound design is notably understated. Gunfire lacks the cinematic bravado typically heard in American productions; explosions feel more like dull concussions than choreographed peaks. The score, used sparingly, seems less interested in guiding emotion than in staying out of the way, contributing to the film's quasi-anthropological tone. In a way, the sonic design aligns more closely with A Midnight Clear (1992) than with more muscular counterparts like Enemy at the Gates (2001). Both films explore similar themes of misunderstanding and human connection across enemy lines, though The Fallen is more opaque, resisting the narrative symmetry or redemptive arcs that A Midnight Clear ultimately allows itself.

The acting ensemble delivers a grounded, unshowy set of performances, each actor embodying a national and ideological role that is slowly deconstructed as the story progresses. There is a deliberate avoidance of conventional "leads"-an ensemble approach that reflects the film's thematic interest in shared delusion and mutual disintegration. Characters are introduced with a kind of deliberate anonymity, a choice that serves the film's aim but sometimes hinders emotional investment. The performances from the Italian partisans, in particular, are finely calibrated, and avoid both romanticization and caricature. By contrast, the German soldiers are portrayed with a stiff precision that borders on stereotype at times, but this too may reflect the film's structural logic: order dissolving into disorder, certainty into confusion.

Crucially, The Fallen was produced at a time when the United States was deep into the Iraq War, and this context inevitably bleeds into the film's moral framing. Its thematic refusal to endorse a clean dichotomy between good and evil, its emphasis on the futility of command hierarchies in the fog of battle, and its depiction of soldiers from different factions sharing moments of disoriented solidarity, all suggest a subtextual engagement with contemporary skepticism toward military interventionism and the narratives that justify it. The film isn't propagandistic or even didactic-it operates in a space of disillusionment, much closer in spirit to Cross of Iron (1977), though it lacks that film's operatic nihilism. Rather, it is a quiet, almost academic autopsy of a historical moment in which ideology falters and only the mechanics of survival remain.

Set in the often-overlooked Italian theater of WWII, the film is unusually attentive to the specifics of geography and terrain. The Apennine mountains, crumbling villages, and muddy fields become more than a backdrop-they are active participants in the action, shaping movement, communication, and confusion. Compared to other films set in this theater, such as El Alamein: The Line of Fire ("El Alamein - La linea del fuoco", 2002), which shares the same intention of demystifying combat through the eyes of low-ranking soldiers, The Fallen is less concerned with historical fidelity in terms of battle strategy and more with the psychological disintegration under prolonged exposure to chaos. It is not about winning or losing; it is about the erosion of moral frameworks under the weight of attrition.

If there is a flaw in the film's rigor, it lies in a certain rigidity of tone. The bleakness, while admirably consistent, occasionally curdles into monotony. There are moments when the absence of tonal variation risks disengagement. For all its ambition, the film remains emotionally distant, almost clinical. Where a film like Saints and Soldiers (2003) managed to balance moral ambiguity with moments of human warmth and tension, The Fallen remains more remote, its characters often vehicles for abstraction rather than fully realized individuals.

Nonetheless, this is a film that understands the structural anatomy of war at a granular level. Its micro-historical approach-focusing on a relatively minor skirmish, a sliver of the front, and a disparate group of disoriented soldiers-delivers a portrait not of WWII as a clash of ideologies, but as a slow, unraveling catastrophe of miscommunication, missed opportunities, and unintended consequences. It is not an easy film, nor an emotionally gratifying one, but its cold-eyed scrutiny and resistance to moral simplification make it a distinct, if underappreciated, entry in the WWII war film canon.

The Fallen is an excellent war film in the tradition of The Young Lions. Ari Taub delivers a realistic look and approach to the soldiers in World War II. One has the feeling of seeing old, documentary footage. The acting and writing is superb. It's "weakness" of not having a "name" cast is actually it's strength, because one accepts the characters as real people. If Taub can't get normal distribution, he should contact national and state veteran's grouos, as well as international veteran's organizations and show it wherever they meet. For war film buffs, this is a real treat!

Wonderful heartfelt look at soldiers at war. Great ensemble acting from a large multinational cast in three languages, amazing production values, humor, pathos, tragedy. Like a fine foreign film, only this one was actually made in Brooklyn! Rumor has it the film cost far less than the reported "less than one million dollars." To paraphrase the New York Post review, if only those pea brains in Hollywood could see this movie, they might learn a thing or two. I've seen the movie several times, and it gets better and more nuanced with each viewing. I only hope that others get to see it. Hopefully Ari Taub will continue making quality movies which truthfully and entertainingly tell stories without the excess and bloat we've become numbed by.