ETO_Buff 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.

jajosullivan I really enjoyed this film. It was sad and funny and tragic and many other things as well. It reminded me of the hallelujah trail (Burt Lancaster)with loads of people wandering around looking for each other. Eventually they find each other whether they want to or not and a number of them end up dead (this being unlike the Hallelulah Trail). I liked the way that lots of the characters wanted out but kept on going despite their fears.I imagine this is true of most combatants. Some people are heroes (see Audie Murphies Films)but most people are just people. There were a number of stereotypes but then this is also true of life. Wherever you go you meet people who fit these stereotypes. It was a very human film.

noralee "The Fallen" at first seems like an old-fashioned World War II movie, opening with almost "Hogan's Heroes"-like humor with "Milo Minderbinder" of "Catch-22" like wheeling-dealing, but gradually develops into a moving and complex portrait of soldiers. Most English-language films we have seen about GI's interacting with locals have been in French forests, but this is set in the more complex social, political and military environment of northern Italy at the close of the war, dealt with superficially in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and almost contemporaneously in Roberto Rossellini's "Paisà", which was also a series of vignettes.The very large ensemble that gets hard to differentiate individually includes Americans closing in on the Germans who are equally allies and occupiers to Italians buffeted by deposed fascists, Communist partisans, displaced peasants and apolitical criminals, an unusually diverse array of characters who all claim to be nationalists.Like a Bill Maudlin cartoon, this is war from the GI's eye view; we don't see generals or hear discussions of strategy or tactics, just orders to follow. The American soldiers, as drawn by the script of Nick Day and Caio Ribeiro, are the most stereotyped from old movies, the hulking hillbilly, the Italian guy from Brooklyn who is delegated to do translations and community relations as the locals eagerly ask if he knows their cousins, the alcoholic officer in charge, etc. In the second half of the film, the Americans' portrayal sharpens up as the supply guys in the quartermaster corps are thrust into the front lines for the first time and there's less dialog and more taut action.The German soldiers are the least stereotyped, despite many close-ups on their black crosses and Heil Hitler salutes. They are shown as professional, competent soldiers doing their job far from home in a crumbling situation, with limited supplies and manpower. Though sounding more like World War I trench movies (and characters on all sides recall relatives who were inspiring veterans), their discussions of the futility of continuing to fight are plausible and add complications to their actions. The Italians are a mix of stereotypes and complexities. The sex-starved peasant women are just plain silly, and the Army, regardless of accurate issues of unpreparedness, looks like buffoons. The Mafiosi-like thug and his henchmen are the usual, but their interactions with the armies are interesting, even if it is never explained how they've avoided the war up to now. The refugees are both as haunted and resilient as "Mother Courage".While far less bloody than "Saving Private Ryan", it is unpredictable what will happen to characters we get to care about and is unsparing in showing the personal devastation of war. Debut feature director Ari Taub does the fight scenes very up close and personal, and very effectively portrays a real sense of actual combat, particularly for a low-budget film.The developing serious tone is undone many times by the melodramatic score which overemphasizes comedic elements of the absurdity of war. Period songs by interesting voices are used effectively throughout. With each nationality speaking in their native tongues, the subtitles are black-lined and always legible. The subtitles are also thoughtfully provided even when characters are speaking English but with thick accents. Language communication issues are a key part of this story.

RichardKentGreen Toward the end of WWII, the Gothic Line was looked at by both the Allied and Axis powers as an endgame in Italy. It took most of the war for the Allies to push up through Italy to this same line across the top of the Boot where the Romans held the Goths, hence the name. Germans, with the occupied (and not so cooperative) Italian Army, were on the North side, Americans and British forces were on the South. In the mix were the Italian Resistance and the local gangs of opportunists called Paisans.The focus of this extraordinary film is on not just the combatants and their allies, but the people who were being affected by the war as well. THE FALLEN explores the unsteady relationship between authority and humanity in the military (on all sides), between allies, and between soldiers and their civilian countrymen. It does so with humor, sensitivity and grandeur. We see the conflict in human terms, whether through a lazy soldier, a stressed-out commander, or a triumphant volunteer. Also unusual, all the nationalities are played by native actors speaking the various languages, with relevant subtitles.I look forward to seeing more from everyone on this talented team - especially Mr. Taub.