“I just want to see it on a big screen again. That says it all.” That was how I closed my last article, and about a month later, the wish came true faster than expected 😂 My second viewing of The Fall, this time at Morc Asagaya. It was, once again, the best day ever.
You can find my previous Meguro Cinema article in the related links below.
Welcomed by Tanabata Streamers on the Way to Morc Asagaya
The walk from Asagaya Station to the cinema took me through a shopping street lined with Tanabata decorations. Stars and all sorts of shapes, just walking along was fun. I wonder if every single one is different? A little pre-film stroll that got me excited before the screening even started. What a lovely town.
What Kind of Cinema Is Morc Asagaya?
Morc Asagaya is a mini theatre a short walk from the station. Rather than a first-run cinema for new releases, it mainly screens older films, recent re-runs, and remastered versions from Japan and abroad. The Fall: 4K Digital Remaster, which had its revival release in November 2025, made its way around and finally arrived here in Asagaya.
The auditorium is, to be honest, quite small, even more compact than Meguro Cinema, where I went the other day. And quite a few people came in after the film had already started, which surprised me. Perhaps it really is that kind of local cinema you just wander into?
My seat was on a raised platform towards the back. With the aisle right in front of me, there was no one blocking my view, which made it wonderfully easy to watch. The screen felt a little small because of the extra distance, but it was a calm, comfortable spot in its own way.
The seating layout is rather unusual, so choosing where to sit takes some serious deliberation.
The hand-drawn, illustrated screening schedule was adorable, that warm mini-theatre touch. The poster for The Fall at the entrance was gorgeous too, and my mood was already lifting before the film began.
What I Saw the Second Time: Roy and Alexandria
The first time, I was simply overwhelmed by the visual beauty from start to finish. I wondered whether the images would sweep me away all over again, but surprisingly, this time I found myself concentrating far more on the story than the visuals.
Probably because Lee Pace was just too wonderful.
Roy, played by Lee Pace, is a stuntman who was badly injured in a stunt accident and has lost his will to live. In exchange for telling stories to Alexandria, a little girl staying in the same hospital, he tries to manipulate her into fetching him pills — for a purpose that is anything but good.
The way Roy spins the story, though, keeps bending to Alexandria’s wishes — perhaps because he worries that upsetting her would stop her doing what he wants, or perhaps without thinking that far at all. Either way, he ends up creating the story exactly as she hopes, so in a sense it feels as though Alexandria is the one manipulating Roy. And through the very story he tells her, Roy himself is saved — a tale of the soul’s redemption.
He believes he is the one in control, but in truth he is caught up in the current himself. The story he thought he was creating alone turns out to be one the two of them spun together, and that very story saves him. Only on this second viewing could I finally savour how fascinating their relationship is.
I am sure it would change again if I watched it a third time.
Knowing What’s Coming, and Crying Anyway
I knew every turn of the plot, and I had watched the trailer on YouTube countless times. Which is exactly why my eyes started welling up the moment I sensed that scene approaching, the special sobbing of the well-prepared (laughs). By the end, the tears simply would not stop.
You can cry even when you know the ending. No, you cry because you know the ending. The power of this film is something to behold.
Lee Pace Is Just Too Cool
And this time, it hit me all over again: Lee Pace as Roy is so impossibly cool that I could not take my eyes off him. His expressions, his voice, the way he speaks, every gesture, all of it was just wonderful. Gorgeous, love him, so cool, the best.
Apparently he is also in The Hobbit, as the Elvenking, I hear, so I have already made up my mind to watch it (laughs). I wonder if it is on U-NEXT…
Final Thoughts
The second time around, I gave myself to the story, and to Lee Pace. Of course, the visuals are still breathtakingly beautiful no matter how many times I see them, Eiko Ishioka’s costumes are too gorgeous and too cool for words, and the music is something I end up listening to on endless repeat. Every viewing grips my heart in a different place.
I used to think this film would make my personal top three. It may have just become No.1… 🏆
A shopping street dressed in Tanabata streamers, and a small, warm-hearted cinema. Morc Asagaya, what a lovely time it was.
A third viewing? Of course there will be one!
