Published via Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

There are pretentious art films, very pretentious art films and art films so pretentious that even their authors realise that and later try to distance themselves from their work. Such was the fate of Pink Floyd: The Wall, 1982 musical film directed by Alan Parker.

The script was written by Roger Waters, lead singer of famous English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, and it was based on the band's 1979 conceptual album The Wall. The protagonist, played by Irish punk rock singer and future star philanthropist Bob Geldof, is Pink, successful and popular rock star who is about to perform at concert in America. While he gained fame and fortune, deep inside he is miserable and still tormented by the loos of his father (played by James Laurenson) killed as British officer during Second World War while Pink was only an infant. Pink later spent his formative years under the thumb of his overprotective mother (played by Christine Hargreaves) and bullied by tyrannical school teacher (played by Alex MacAvoy). Another source of frustration is his wife (played by Eleanor David) who cheats him with a nuclear disarmament activist (played by James Hazeldine) while Pink is on tour. This leads Pink over the edge and he suffer mental breakdown, shaves the hair from his body and his manager (played by Bob Hoskins) is forced to drug him in order to have him perform. In his drugged-out state Pink envisions himself as future fascist dictator of Britain and later defendant in bizarre trial during which he is accused that he had built the wall between himself and other people.

The Wall had long and very troubled production. Originally devised as concert film, with documentary footage to be accompanied by film animation directed by Pink Floyd's old associate Gerard Scarfe, it was turned into live action film. Alan Parker, director known for successful films related to music, seemed to be very good choice. On the set, he constantly clashed with Waters and Scarfe, which turned the production into very unpleasant experience and the final result was unsatisfying both for Waters and Parker. Film, at least its live segments, have some stunning visuals, with Parker using period costumes, relatively high budget and some special effects to create few memorable scenes. Parker, however, added an interesting stylistic touch by abandoning conventional narrative. There are very few dialogues in the film and scenes follow the musical numbers from the original album, sometimes with altered lyrics. The result is at times good, but it is mostly confusing and many scenes, especially when they are repetitive, look almost parodically pretentious. The finale, which uses Scarfe's animation and in which Pink doesn't actually appear as played by Geldof, is both disappointing and un-cathartic. Despite mostly kind welcome by critics and modest box office succes, The Wall relatively quickly sank into relatively obscurity. This can be partially explained by its generally depressive and unpleasant tone and the only people who might find some enjoyment in it are the most devout of Pink Floyd's fans. The rest would probably better enjoy The Wall in original form of conceptual album.

RATING: 3/10 (+)