Leofwine_draca The premise behind THE WALL, a German art-house movie, is a familiar one: an invisible barrier suddenly appears, trapping a woman (and her dog) in a rural valley, where she must learn to fend for herself against the elements and the dangers her new-found situation brings. This idea is nothing new, having been explored - at length - in Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME, and I actually explored it myself in a high school horror story I wrote back in the 1990s.Unfortunately the execution of THE WALL turns out to be lacking, failing to effectively exploit the narrative scenarios that such a barrier would give rise to. Don't get me wrong, there are some chilling and effective scenes here, but 90% of the film seems to consist of the protagonist moping around and feeling sorry for herself.A ponderous, often monotonous, narration does little to help things. You can't fault the acting here, and the cinematography is the best thing in it, really bringing out the isolation of the rural valley setting. But the character is uninteresting and the bizarre time frame, which jumps all over the place as the film progresses, is just confusing. Not so much I AM LEGEND as I AM DULL AND NOT AS GOOD AS I THINK I AM.

hou-3 I enjoyed this movie but I am glad it ended when it did because it had exhausted its theme. It is really a reflection on how we can only regain our humanity if we get back to nature, as the protagonist does perforce because of the inexplicable appearance of the wall. It's beautifully acted, directed and filmed, with some lovely Bach - which seems to be there just to add lyricism and melancholy, but it's still welcome. Be warned - the appearance of The Wall is never explained and there is no resolution. Our heroine just decides that being now At One with nature, she may as well go on living. Lovely Salzkammergut scenery. In fact, it's really The Sound of Music but without the songs, the Nazis and the nuns. Instead of which there are a great dog, a cow and two cats, plus our heroine and a whole load of angst. Sound a bit odd? Well, the Germans and Austrians do have this big thing about nature ...Update: I have just given the movie a second viewing and while the mystery of what is going on remains, I was even more impressed than first time around by the cinematography, which is really alpha plus. So I have upped my original 7 to 8

Alexandra Cc I haven't seen a foreign-(I'd say)low budget movie in a long time. This one was, in short words, interesting (or, maybe, I just missed a fantasy movie).The scenery was beautiful indeed and there's no point in writing more about it since other reviewers already did.The acting was OK in my opinion. But there's not much to say here either since there was only one actor who appeared through the entire movie.The story began in a modern manner, with a scene from the present followed by a scene from the past (how it all began). I didn't particularly appreciate the beginning, but moving on. I liked some details, like that moment when the main character attempted to pet the dog, but quickly drew her hand back because of the reaction of the animal. But after she found herself trapped in that bubble, she quickly became best friends with the dog named Luchs.I didn't like the length of some scenes. I understood that they're there to allow the viewer to reflect on the acts and thoughts of the woman, but I would've just cut off at least a few seconds.The movie also contained some violent scenes like the one when the dog is killed. They were so contrastable with the peace and beauty of the place.What I really liked in this movie was the balanced, rational, peaceful way that woman chose to deal with her situation. I thought that she is an introvert and I appreciated that she admitted her fears and emotions in her improvised diary. (But as a cat fan I really hated her for letting her white cat out on a dangerous night that killed her) The ending left me confused as I didn't expect it. I thought that they'd reveal something about that "wall". I understood that it was about meaning, possibilities, unknown, but I would've given them more points for creativity if the ending was different (but here's probably not so much their "fault" as much as the author's "fault").The entire movie was peaceful, deliberate, only at times the silence was disturbed by some events like the car crush, the mysterious man, the hunting. I could think of many meanings, even some that probably had nothing to do with the author's intentions, like the whole wall is a symbol for extreme introversion, or for autism.To sum up, it was an interesting movie to watch, but many of us might find it boring. I guess you just need the right mood for it. I do believe that there are many other better movies with such a subject to watch. Call me superficial but this one did not make me raise as many discussions and thoughts about life and human nature as other movies (and I'll give as an example another recent foreign movie: The Broken Circle Breakdown (but that movie has a completely different subject though).

Nathaniel Russell Not to be confused with the Pink Floyd film, the Wall is a poetic and beautifully shot film about isolation and nature. The basic premise is that a woman suddenly discovers that she is surrounded by an invisible wall. The film shows how the woman deals with her situation through a diary that she keeps, documenting the events of this unfortunate event.It is part survival film and part existential allegory with a dash of psychological horror.The film does have a slow pace that would probably be a bore for the masses, but I enjoyed its meditative pace that allows you to feel the gravity of the situation at hand and marvel at the beauty of nature (which is also a heavy theme in this film).10/10 for originality and beauty