DVD Die Wand
Run time: 108 min
Rating: 6.8
Genres: Drama | Fantasy
Director: Julian Pölsler
Writers: Marlen Haushofer, Julian Pölsler
Stars: Martina Gedeck, Karlheinz Hackl, Ulrike Beimpold
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Storyline A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature. Written by Music Box Films |
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Plot Keywords: dog, nature, animal death, crow, austrian alps | |
Details: Country: Austria, Germany Release Date: 5 July 2013 (UK) |
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Box Office Opening Weekend: $2,188 (USA) (31 May 2013) Gross: $38,674 (USA) (20 September 2013) |
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4 comments
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.
It's complete art-house fare but since the source material is one of Austria's great novels of the 20th century (it was written in the early 1960s) they gave this film a semi-wide release here in Austria. It's a last-woman-on-Earth-story – think about Robinson Crusoe, The Road, I am Legend, but very naturalistic except for the wall which traps the protagonist in a secluded alpine area. It was a bit toned down from the book – some of the more violent or disgusting passages were missing, I guess not to alienate the audience too much since the story is intense enough already. This seemed to work as WOM is quite good, everybody was discussing it on our way out. My son (who didn't know the book) was impressed too. Also left out were any references to the cold war which were not that important in the book to begin with; here the wall is more like a natural catastrophe and the story is much more timeless this way. From a technical POV this was excellent, filmed with a RED-to-35mm and much natural light I think. Most of the crew hail from TV productions but it's clearly visible how much fun they had with the wide format. Sound design was good too. Music was sparse, a few Bach sonatas. And I liked how they didn't color-grade the thing to death as happens sometimes (The Road, Children of Men …) – the story is bleak enough without much fiddling – we get the message. The landscape, wood and winter sequences are just beautiful. Highly recommended if you're able to see this. Maybe it gets a foreign run; there's nearly no dialogue, most spoken text is just off-screen-quoting from her diary so subtitles or dubbing won't really take away much.
What a beautiful story this is. I can understand why Julian Pölsler wanted to film his favorite book of Marlen Haushofer, a book that I've now added to my to read list.
The scenery of Austria is so beautiful. Experiencing the country through all the seasons would have been enough for me to watch the movie. But the movie is so much more than just beautiful scenery. The plot made me profoundly think about humanity, nature, life… and if a movie succeeds in doing that it deserves merit. I also like that multiple interpretations can apply to the movie, since it has a certain symbolical feel to it, rather than being a science fiction or utopian/dystopian story. I for example see a lot of parallels with someone who has a depression, not being able to fight an invisible wall, struggling to do everyday tasks in order to survive, feeling alienated.
It's great how the connectedness with nature is illustrated. How we depend on nature and how nature depends on us. How we humans are gods who are able to choose to kill or let live, who can choose to kill the very nature that makes us survive.
Perhaps for people who have read the book, the movie doesn't add more than beautiful scenery and a good acting performance by Martina Gedeck and not to forget dog Luchs, but for me it's definitely worth the 8*.
After being kept in suspense for two hours, the movie leaves me behind in despair. What would happen to the woman,now she has written her last notes?…
One of the most thrilling movies I have ever seen and (besides) of an outstanding beauty! Fully isolated from mankind by an invisible wall and being thrown on her own resources, the woman find an inner strength to survive and to take care of her "companions" the animals. After a hard struggle the woman find herself united with everything in life(one with the animals, one with nature). I recognize "die Wand" in our own lives, the restrictions we have to deal with, the loneliness. This movie shows that and more! A brilliant role of Martina Gedeck (we know her from "The lives of the others"). "Die Wand" is a masterpiece.