A young girl (Catinca Untaru) who is staying at a hospital in 1915 Los Angeles wanders through the halls and meets an injured movie stunt man (Lee Pace). To pass the time – and for other, more mournful reasons – he tells her wild stories involving a princess and bandits, stories which director Tarsem Singh, a former music-video director, dramatizes with wild visual flair. Some of the movie’s gorgeous imagery involves tiny details, as when the little girl notices how a keyhole serves as a movie projector, casting shadows on a wall. Others make use of the overwhelming landscapes from the 18 countries in which the picture was filmed. Comparisons will be made to Pan’s Labyrinth, yet The Wizard of Oz is clearly Singh’s main influence. All three films celebrate the dangerous beauty of which tall tales are made.
