Les Chutes

"That said, THE FALLS is no slacker in drumming up its emotional proportions, after the tumultuous first-half, Pin-wen and Jing's stricken existence literally changes for a rosier prospect after the tarp draping outside their apartment is dismantled, its blueish constraint gives way to an open view of a new lease on life. Jing learns to cope with Pin-wen's condition in the latter's shoes, and such empathetic approach is vindicated gratifyingly and surprisingly in the snake-in-the-room accident. As for Pin-wen, she needs to disabuse the illusion that her ex-husband (Lee) will return, reconciles herself to"the falls" in her head and comes clean to people who genuinely care for her, like the supermarket manager Mr. Chen (Chen). Aptly orchestrating the life-affirming progress that stops short of veering into the lane of mawkishness, Chung puts great trust in Chia's performance. Feelingly transforming from a capable single mother to a logy head case, Chia dives plumb into Pin-wen's deterioration without pretense, and felicitously calibrates the dissonant co-existence of emotional sincerity and cognitive distance. The close-ups of her face gradually swelling with belated emotive register are evidence of Chia's meritorious chops. Somehow it feels remiss that Chung doesn't tap into the sonic impact of "the falls" to grace the film with some more pertinent references of psychosis, although Lu Lü-Ming's stirring score is beyond reproach."

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7/10.

This film explored themes of mental health amidst the coronavirus pandemic, between a mother and her daughter. Personally, this film really moved me, people that have experienced family with declining mental health will understand, as it was portrayed very well.

The film is 2 hours long, I thought it was a good length, people have complained about it being too long, but I disagree, the film took its time in showcasing all sorts of scenarios, following both the mother and daughter throughout its course. Sometimes together, and other times apart.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, the acting was fantastic and the ambience of the movie was great, too. It is a slowly progressing film, but I do think that was intentional, as to reflect on the situation the main characters were in.

I was very touched by this movie. I thought it did an excellent job of handling a subject matter that affects many of us. There were so many moments that my heart ached for the daughter.

The strength of these two women was very powerful. I thought it was excellent.

The cinematography here is great, and the actors are good as well. Nice to see some Taiwan culture. The story is quite thin. The movie is too long for what it is. Could have been better with a shorter cut.

Contrary to what the trailer for THE FALLS and the summary of the film posted on the Netflix site suggest, Chung Mong-hong (PARKING) used the current global health crisis not as the main frame of the action , but more like a trigger, for a rich tale of learning and rebirth unfolding over several months. Clearly, these are the cross-portraits of a fighter at the end of the rope, ripe for a healthy change of life, and a capricious young girl, who learns the hard way to become a responsible and generous adult. Along with an empathetic look at mental illness, the script doesn't spare Taiwanese society, exposing some of its flaws with aplomb. Adopting a slow rhythm, at the risk of generating some lengths, the staging is rigorous, cold at the beginning, then gradually warm, while the two protagonists find a certain balance. These are embodied with great nuance and sensitivity by the formidable Alyssa Chia and Gingle Wang.