The Wall (2012)
"Die Wand" (original title)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Julian Pölsler

Writers:

Marlen Haushofer (novel), Julian Pölsler (adaptation)

Stars:

Wolfgang M. Bauer, Ulrike Beimpold, Martina Gedeck

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Wolfgang M. Bauer	...	Mann
Ulrike Beimpold	...	Luise
Martina Gedeck	...	Frau
Julia Gschnitzer	...	Keuschlerin
Karlheinz Hackl	...	Hugo
Hans-Michael Rehberg	...	Keuschler

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.

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Plot Keywords:

animal | voice over narration | cow | nature | mountain | 

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Taglines:

Inside everyone lies a truth only the wilderness can reveal.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Austria]

Country:

Austria Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

11 October 2012 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Wall

Filming Locations:

Salzkammergut, Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,188 (USA) (31 May 2013)

Gross:

$11,089 (USA) (14 June 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coop99 Filmproduktion, Starhaus Filmproduktion, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Bleak story, beautiful setting

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.