The Wall
Music Box Films | Release Date: May 31, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 4, 2013
The Wall is no endurance test; rather, it presents the facts of the case, adding an eerie low hum to the soundtrack whenever Gedeck's character edges near her outer limits. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsJul 3, 2013
A sublime meditation on solitude. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksJul 5, 2013
Julian Roman Pölsler's bewitching debut manages to be at once a creepy sci-fi parable, a feminist Robinson Crusoe and a clear-eyed ode to the wonders of nature experienced in solitude. Walden pond with added wall. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJul 5, 2013
Call it a landlocked variant on Robinson Crusoe, but it’s a hypnotic one, with a sense of mystery and interior life that are all its own. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinJun 12, 2013
The Wall is a remarkably involving film, especially given its brave, self-imposed limitations. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeEthan GilsdorfSep 19, 2013
Bleak and beautiful, harrowing yet also curiously stirring, The Wall (“Die Wand”) is a stunning tale of isolation and survival that unfolds in a wild and silent world. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryAug 22, 2013
Pölsler’s film is quietly deliberate without ever feeling slow. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeMay 30, 2013
The Wall winds up as a captivating fable, an end-times scenario that’s more about the survival of the spirit than the body. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMay 30, 2013
The photography is often lovely, and Ms. Gedeck convincingly portrays a woman who as the ordeal stretches on month after month seems to be gradually losing her individuality and blending into the landscape. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGabe ToroMay 31, 2013
The Wall seems to be telling the story about assimilation, about a woman who accepts her lot and attempts to persevere through the cruelest of conditions, an unspoken martyr. Perhaps it would carry much more power had she not been so chatty. Read full review
60
Total FilmCarmen GrayJul 5, 2013
The sci-fi premise seems preposterous, but get beyond that and Gedeck’s predicament absorbs. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid ParkinsonJul 1, 2013
Bold and beautiful, this is a mystery worth puzzling over. Read full review
60
VarietyBoyd van HoeijMay 28, 2013
Though complementary, the pic’s images and voiceover never quite fuse into a single whole. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlMay 28, 2013
For all its stellar nature photography, its low hum of suspense, and Gedeck's raw and affecting performance, the film often feels like an illustrated audiobook rather than narrative drama. Read full review
60
Time OutEric HynesMay 28, 2013
Though its blanketed voiceover narration can be too on-the-nose—it’s a metaphor, we get it—the film packs a psychic punch, thanks to Gedeck’s spectrally wearied face. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 5, 2013
Haushofer’s book may be a classic, but this is the least imaginative way of filming it imaginable, short of simply pointing the camera at a copy and rapidly flipping the pages. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungMay 28, 2013
There's plenty of time for the viewer to muse on what The Wall might or might not symbolize -- when events finally take an abruptly surprising and violent turn, the tonal shift is unsatisfyingly awkward. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineTomas HachardMay 27, 2013
We may find out how Gedeck's character reacts to her isolation, but we're never privy to her actual feelings, largely because in a film about a sudden onset of solitude, Pölsler is far too afraid of silence. Read full review
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