A Patchwork Family: The Struggle for Survival in Pölsler’s Austrian Movie Die Wand

Abstract

The movie Die Wand (2013) was hugely successful in the German-speaking world and once dubbed, also in other countries. It is often described as a film depicting a woman living in utter isolation cut off from any social contact. I, however, argue that the protagonist, though she is without any human contact, creates a family-like order with the animals that have flocked to her. She is the dominant mother figure who takes care of her“children” and defends them when needed.