The Falls (2021)

A rather creative, and highly spiritual twist on coming of age films. The 18-year old protagonist has life's hard lesson thrust upon her: Sometimes we create our situation, and sometimes, the Universe throws us what seems to be outrageous fortunes. Regardless of how it happens, we are always exactly where we are supposed to be. Maybe not as accomplished as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...Spring, yet, it's very well acted.

The Falls portrays the stillness of the COVID-19 era through the quiet disintegration and slow healing of a mother and daughter trapped together in isolation. Pin Wen and Xiao Jing’s strained relationship unravels as silence becomes heavier than words, revealing how confinement turns a home into both a cage and a mirror. Through subtle performances and poetic symbolism — the blue tarp, the waterfall, the return of sunlight — the film transforms grief into quiet resilience. It’s not a story of survival, but of rediscovery — showing that sometimes, we must fall before we can stand again.

Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)