Valley of the Dome
Having driven to a remote cabin in an Austrian valley a woman (Martina Gedeck) and a dog stay there whilst her friends walk to the village. When they don't return the woman thinks they must have stayed the night in an inn and so with the dog start walking back. But their journey is blocked by an invisible barrier one which after the shock of discovering the woman finds extends to all exit points leaving her isolated with just a dog. It soon becomes apparent to the woman that she is going to have to survive; find some way of working with the land to live whilst also finding ways to keep hold of her sanity.
First and most importantly "The Wall" is not a movie for everyone; for those who don't do foreign movies this one is in German and secondly it is a movie without story or at least not a mainstream storyline which means you need to be open to thinking beyond what you see to get the movie. If you are unable to do so what you are left with is a movie which is full of natural beauty but little else to keep you involved.
Now whilst I enjoy foreign movies I must admit I am not so keen on art house cinema which is what "The Wall" is but the concept intrigues me. When I read this was a movie about a woman who found her self living in an isolated valley surrounded by an invisible barrier I could see the potential. And it is a very intriguing movie as we want to understand what we are watching, why is this woman isolated, why her in particular, is it an examination of solitude, insanity, loneliness?
The thing is that "The Wall" is a movie which is completely open to interpretation as it doesn't give you answers. Oh there is symbolism but even that is open to interpretation and so "The Wall" becomes a movie which can mean different things to different people. But being such an open movie does make it hard work for those who struggle with anything which isn't served up on a plate although again the visuals are great and there are some impressive visual scenes which are simple such as one which involves the car.
What this all boils down to is that "The Wall" is genuinely a very interesting and entertaining movie with a fantastic concept, a great look and although I havn't mentioned it a good performance from Martina Gedeck. But it is such an open to interpretation movie which doesn't provide the answers that it is isn't going to be for everyone.
