The Wall

I came here after viewing this very odd film and I expected to read an equal amount of bad and good reviews and I wasn't incorrect. I'm sort of in the middle. This is most assuredly not a film for everyone. It has to be classified as science fiction, but it rarely feels like one. A woman goes to spend a weekend in a isolated cabin and is kept captive by some sort of invisible wall or force field of some sort. Rather than sci-fi, this plays like some sort of cerebral meditation on the joys and pain of loneliness, mostly the latter. This film also involves numerous animals and the trapped character's connection with them. Some of this aspect is touching, but some of it is difficult to watch, especially one scene. This is no doubt slow as some have been critical of, but I found quite a bit of it sort of intriguing. It is a one woman show starring the acclaimed German actress, Martina Gedeck. There were a few things that annoyed me, primarily a couple of things not explored, but overall this is an interesting film for the serious minded viewer.

This is a film that has left such an impression on me that I was very curious what other viewers interpretations of it were. I felt the beauty and despair of loneliness. The connection humans can have with nature and above all... animals, our need for them not only to fill our void socially and emotionally, but as creatures to sustain our life in all ways. Even if to give us a purpose.

The irony that she was there on a hunting trip with friend that she obviously was not partaking in, but had probably not thought much about . I appreciated that she really understood that hunting should only be for food and could not understand how any being could take pleasure out of death of an animal.

The vivid beauty of Austria was captivating. This is a beautiful film that I will never quite forget. It has reminded me of how strong humans can be when they have to be to survive, how fragile we are, and how our brains have the capability to adapt to situations that are unexplainable when all feels hopeless.

This film will not appeal to everyone, but it certainly appealed to me. I'm a big fan of films and books depicting people in isolated, alienated circumstances, whether physically alone or within the boundaries of society. The Wall effectively portrays this unnamed woman's solitary confinement behind an invisible wall, while the world outside has stopped functioning as she knew it (the apocalyptic reason is never brought to light and is really not necessary, and the couple at the cabin is an effective symbol of the frozen state of time and circumstance). The woman develops a tender-hearted relationship with the animals she must nurture and care for as she learns to care for herself and survive. Certainly the viewer (like the reader) can draw many conclusions about the nature of solitude, isolation, alienation, and human psychology. The film invites that kind of thinking, if not open dialog. The woman experiences a wide range of emotion, desperation, yes, but also solace and even joy in her steadfast self reliance and the beauty of the world to which she is given access (scenes of the night sky are particularly moving). The outlook is ultimately a bleak one, though, and expect no clear resolution. This ambiguity may be off-putting to viewers who would prefer the woman find a way out, encounter a rescuer, or at least discover a partner in her exile (which makes one of the events in the film all the more horrific).

If for no other reason, watch the film for the fine acting, exquisite scenery, and dramatic depiction of nature. I have not yet read the book on which the film is based, but am looking forward to doing so. I congratulate the filmmakers for bringing this story to a wider audience.

Confusing, narrated, strange, and difficult to follow. Too many questions regarding the actions of the main character. I don't know about you, but I'd have done so many other, different, and direct things than this main character in order to extract myself from my current situation. The wall: did the river run through it? Was it like a dome? Was it bulletproof? Would it be possible to dig beneath it? Were animals affected by it? Maybe I should just write a story about it... no, that would be boring. In order to change or alter my situation, I would have to do something different each day. The lead and only character was satisfied with her predicament. I do wonder, however, about the end result.

A woman, a dog, one of the most beautiful places of the world. It's hard to say more about this movie without saying too much.

It has a very well crafted, tight script, well chosen music and great cinematography, both in plain light and in deep darkness, in open land and closed quarters.

There is no waste in this film, everything fits. The acting is nuanced, controlled. The sense of menace is achieved with lighting and camera work. No false scares, no misleadings, no cheap shocks.

This tale of survival and endurance, ultimately about the meaning of humanity, is a moving masterpiece that will stay with me a long time.