Best movie of this year hands down!

One of my all time favorites.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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 and basically copying my review of this film on Netflix.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.

For starters, I once met the director when he was going to WW2 re-enactments with a period movie camera and making videos of the events which looked DARNED good. I really wish he'd kept that up. Because as much as I applaud what he accomplished on a clearly "next to nothing" budget, when I popped out the DVD, I just wondered why I sat through almost two hours of nothing. There's no real plot to speak of, you don't really care what happens to the characters (maybe the Italian troops and some of the Germans), and the ending is yet another "art film" commentary on the futility of war. I could have told someone how it would end once I got through the first ten minutes. I KNEW the Germans would have a few heroically volunteer to fight to the death, I knew most of the Quartmaster GIs would be killed, it was just too darned obvious! And while I'm on the subject, I was shocked to see so much of the Axis side done well, yet the GI side done comically. All the character development was clearly for non-English-speaking roles. The GIs simply got shafted hard in this film. And I can't help but wonder if they even had someone on the set who understood how the US Army works? The phrases, terminology, actions, were clearly written by someone with no knowledge of the American military at all. Had I now known who had directed this film, I'd have sworn it was directed and written by a German...

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.

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.