The Fall

Greetings again from the darkness. Filmmaker Jonathan Grazer is known for two things: making music videos for Radiohead and Blur, and for the unusual and thought-provoking feature films he makes - SEXY BEAST (2000), BIRTH, and UNDER THE SKIN (2013). His most recent short film is only six minutes long, yet plays like both a horror film and a societal commentary.

We open on some trees at the edge of a forest. One tree stands out as its branches and leaves are rustling briskly. The camera pulls in and we see a group of masked folks violently shaking the tree as another masked person desperately clings to the trunk after climbing out of reach. What follows is very much like watching someone else's nightmare ... the kind of nightmare that elicits a cold sweat and a rude awakening.

The percussion and sound effects are perfect compliments to what we witness, and the sound is crucial right through the end credits. We never see an actual face, but Mr. Grazer generates extreme tension with just a few scenes and no dialogue. The commentary on mob mentality is spot on for what's occurring these days, and the film will jolt you accordingly.

1st interpretation: it could mean the masses is tired of the rich and successful on top, and during a revolution, they are brought down. But the rich and successful are up there for a reason, through their ingenuity and hard work, and again through them, they eventually rise again.

2nd interpretation: second meaning could be about a side of our human nature, when we are on the "right course" or being successful, the masses could represent our family, tradition, latent fears, or our own doubts about ourselves that tries to pull us down; crabs in a barrel. We fall, we "fail", yet our dream never really dies, eventually it starts to emerge again, and the cycle continues.

The meta societal trends mirrors the microcosms of our minds, the other way round or a reflexive interchange?

3/10=3/5.

Ominous to say the least. There may be no better metaphor for the crowd vs. An individual than a man literally up a tree, terrified, and being shaken down. What did this guy do to warrant this treatment - did he commit a crime, or is he an outcast of some sort? As he is plunged down an endless chute and faced with a very difficult climb back upwards, scratching and clawing with each step, is this a statement on how punitive the justice system can be, leaving the chances for rehabilitation after prison very low? Or just a window into the struggle of the outsider, the "other" tortured by the mob? The sense of humanity, of any semblance of compassion, is lost behind masks. Terrifying and timeless, and yet clearly made for the time we're living in.

Jonathan Glazer's The Fall (2019) is a brilliantly directed visual masterpiece with breathtaking cinematography and fantastic production design.

I hope Glazer adapt this short into a feature length film with same quality and same crew.

Director Jonathan Glazer has made feature films such as Sexy Beast. He also made music videos for bands such as Radiohead and Massive Attack.

This is a beautifully crafted short film where us utilises his skills in making short promos.

The BBC showed this short film with little fanfare. It just appeared to be broadcast.

Apparently inspired by a hunting photo taken of one of Trump's offsprings with a leopard. I saw elements of The Wicker Man, Us and Zardoz in this.

It is surreal as you view what looks like some kind of tribe from the past in masks out in a forest. However they pose for a photo with their intended victim who they are about to hang.

There are no words, there is strange music. I think the viewer has to make their mind up as to the meaning of this short film. Maybe it has something to say about persecution or mob violence or the madness of Brexit Britain.