Here, Greenaway's goal is to create a visual essay based around word games, numbering, bizarre family lineages, and a random outburst of 'Violent-Unknown-Events'. So, The Falls is not only the director's first stab at feature-length 'storytelling' but also acts as the introduction to a number of those Greenaway trademarks, characteristics and idiosyncrasies that would become more apparent in the classic 'narrative' films that would follow. So, we have the preoccupation with numbers and cataloguing, with 92 being our focal point. 92 deaths that are chronicled throughout, 92 disparate languages, some fictitious, 92 different types of bird, and 92 known instances of Violent-Unknown-Events, or V.U.E.

Greenaway pieces the whole thing together over the course of the film's epic narrative, which the director has himself stated, can be enjoyed at the viewer's own leisure. Meaning, that we can enter and leave the proceedings whenever we feel compelled. Thus, the best word to describe the film would be something like 'sprawling', with Greenaway creating a shattered mosaic of wavering strands and themes running parallel through the 92 various plots and sub-plots that are documented in the film. At just under three hours, it'll be a bit much for most views who aren't ardent Greenaway fans, or inclined to watch back to back documentaries on the History channel, but those that know and love films like A Zed & Two Noughts, The Draughtsman's Contract, and the director's short work will certainly enjoy the stunning intellectual, arcane & satirical scenarios that Greenaway is able to create.


A spellbinding achievement   March 22, 2001
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Welcome to the highly personal paramount of Greenaway's work. His scathing documentary on general English silliness. An elongated, meticulously constructed piece of fabulous fantasy. A fantastic frivolous frolic. The film chronicles the biographies of 92 selected victims of the Violent Unknown Event, or VUE for short. A strange occurrence that has left people speaking strange languages and experiencing bird related symptoms. All of the victims surnames begin with the word FALL.

The bios are described by several narrators. Some of the bios are curt, others are fastidiously described. They are always witty. Some victims constantly drive in circles. Some of them have new talents, like spitting long distances and flying. Some of the bios reminded me of Monty Python sketches, with the similar zest of absurd English humour. It is a challenge to sit through it all in one go, and is probably best viewed on video in two or three attempts. Not recommended for everyone, but if you want something hilariously unique and different, look no further. A spellbinding achievement.


Striking   August 15, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Inspired by the obsessive, picky detail of his ex-colleagues in the Central Office of Information, this is a catalogue of interviews with people who have been affected by a 'Violent Unknown Event', one that seems to have involved a bird. 19 million people were affected, and the 92 people whose last names begin with 'Fall' have been interviewed. Presented as an ambient documentary, it's a fascinatingly circular thing - a film about nothing, but one with maniacal attention to detail. Michael Nyman's musical score (later revisited for 'Drowning by Numbers') is excellent, and, rather like Greenaway's other films, it seems to take place in an alternate world beyond time. It's fascinating, strange, and you can watch it in bits if you get bored.