IMDb RATING
6.7/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
A woman finds herself inexplicably cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the landscape.A woman finds herself inexplicably cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the landscape.A woman finds herself inexplicably cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the landscape.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 15 nominations
Karlheinz Hackl
- Hugo
- (as Karl Heinz Hackl)
Wolfgang M. Bauer
- Man
- (as Wolfgang Maria Bauer)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOfficial submission of Austria to the Oscars 2014 best foreign language film category.
- GoofsWhen she goes to bed for the first night, it's dark outside. Later she explains she went to bed at 9pm on this May day. It's nowhere near dark at 9pm in that region, especially with DST.
- Quotes
Woman: Now I am completely calm. I see a little bit further. I see this is not the end yet. Everything goes on. Taurus, Pearl and Luchs will not return. But something new is approaching, and I cannot escape it. The memory, the grief and the fear will remain and there will be hard work as long as I live.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Starfilm (2017)
Featured review
A lesson in landscape cinematography, if little else
My first instinct after Die Wand had finished was to dismiss it as self-indulgent rubbish and give it a 3/10, whereas halfway through I was nicely into it where it probably deserved a 7. So halfway-house it is then.
What went wrong? After the mysterious setup of the invisible wall, and two excellent early scenes involving frozen neighbours and a car, the story winds down into solipsistic musing about the oneness of nature, which can be quite interesting. A monologue describing how the forest's thoughts are becoming one with her own was profound, putting into words something some of us may have felt from time to time.
Near the end there is a disappointing dramatic incident which feels contrived, and even then the story syncs back into its stoic pace: ultimately leaving us entirely underwhelmed. It must also be said that we (watching together with my partner) needed 3 evenings to get through the whole film, having had to break it up into three shorter parts as we always fell sleepy.
Regarding characterisation, it's typical of modern melancholic German drama: stark, sparse, stoic and frankly too monotone for the viewer to achieve much sentimental connection.
Recommended if:
Not recommended if:
What went wrong? After the mysterious setup of the invisible wall, and two excellent early scenes involving frozen neighbours and a car, the story winds down into solipsistic musing about the oneness of nature, which can be quite interesting. A monologue describing how the forest's thoughts are becoming one with her own was profound, putting into words something some of us may have felt from time to time.
Near the end there is a disappointing dramatic incident which feels contrived, and even then the story syncs back into its stoic pace: ultimately leaving us entirely underwhelmed. It must also be said that we (watching together with my partner) needed 3 evenings to get through the whole film, having had to break it up into three shorter parts as we always fell sleepy.
Regarding characterisation, it's typical of modern melancholic German drama: stark, sparse, stoic and frankly too monotone for the viewer to achieve much sentimental connection.
Recommended if:
- you appreciate landscape cinematography filmed in the still-picture style. Almost every picture is a keeper.
- you are interested in an oblique story about a woman's necessary connection with animals and nature, away from everything else.
- you enjoy a really slow pace, with many long scenes where literally nothing happens other than inviting the viewer to soak up the atmosphere.
- you prefer to objectively identify a film's strengths rather than subjectively enjoy the ride.
- you have trouble getting to sleep.
Not recommended if:
- you're tired of bland characterisation and dull pacing in German film.
- you're expecting a sci-fi/supernatural mystery.
- you like some kind of real-world explanation.
- you prefer the camera work to offer more variety than the still-picture style.
- you don't enjoy encrypting metaphor.
helpful•2522
- slowcando
- Mar 21, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Die Wand
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $38,674
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,188
- Jun 2, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $3,889,260
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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