really liked the recently released the fall (by tarsem singh, who i think has only done the cell, previously)... this was one of the best movies i've seen this year... not perfect, i thought the end was a bit abrupt...
this has probably fallen through the cracks, as i don't think it reached any kind of distribution outside of the festval circuit... i thought the cell was visually stunning, but somewhat lacking in the story department... the fall is even more visually stunning, & imo is a much better story... he doesn't have a very deep body of work (sort of like an indian terrance mallick?

), but after seeing this movie, i'm starting to think he could be an important director and worth following his career...
somewhat like gilliam's baron von munchausen, employing similar narrative vehicle to spin out episodic tales... also like wizard of oz (& munchausen), characters & events from the narrator's world are incorporated into & interwoven with the tales...
this could almost be a family classic (but a dark one, like pan's labrynth), but maybe not ideal for YOUNG children, as there is some heavy underlying subject matter... a paralyzed and hospitalized stunt man ('30s or '40s?) distraught over being jilted tells a young girl fellow patient an epic tale of revenge, betrayal & love, in order to cajole her into stealing morphine so he can carry out his intent to suicide... at any rate this movie could appeal at a lot of levels, & could have crossover appeal for most ages, young & old...
the stunt man & central character doesn't look like him, but his way of speaking reminds me of owen wilson... the little girl steals the show...
the scope of this work is also maybe reminiscent of gilliam in that he paints on an extremely broad canvas & the story is wildly imaginative (i suspect a big reason singh took so long between movies was probably a gilliam-like difficulty in securing funds from financiers who balk at the prospect that his epic scope of vision could exceed the resources alotted to the budget for a weird movie by a quirky director that may not have mainstream appeal & bankability)... but the look is more streamlined & maybe even refined... gilliam can be a bit bloated at times, though i do admire him a lot for the most part...