Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

**Pink Floyd's music works on its own. As a film, it's a waste of time.**

I don't know if Pink Floyd were aware of the impact that “The Wall” would have when they released it. Today, there is some consensus in considering it one of the best rock albums ever and “Another Brick in the Wall” has become an anthem for teenage rebellion, which does not conform to the rules, dictates and conventions. And I feel free to say all this because rock is not, by any stretch of the imagination, one of my personal preference styles of music. I listen, casually, but I wouldn't pay for a ticket.

What this film does, essentially, is to take the concept of the album – which was designed and released as if it were a kind of opera-rock – and give it a look to match in an absolutely dreamlike, hallucinated style. There is no plot other than the one that goes on in the head of the protagonist, the rock vocalist Pink, who seems to be experiencing a very deep depression, as his social and emotional isolation increases, caused by an absent father (he died in the war when he was a child), an overprotective mother, a series of abusive teachers and a recent divorce.

Watching the film is like watching a musical nightmare. It's not an optimistic film, and it's not easy to watch, especially because the plot isn't very obvious and there are no explanations. There are several impactful scenes, so I don't know if it's the most suitable film for impressionable audiences. There are many fantasies about war, about power and using power to control others. There are also some good animated scenes, although they are just as disturbing as all the others. However, the film is just that... and Pink Floyd's music. The film will certainly please fans of the band, and rock lovers in general, but other audiences may think it doesn't justify their time.

Using Pink Floyd’s iconic album as a soundtrack not only brings this vibrant feature alive, but it also allows Alan Parker to treat each track as if it were a template to experiment with some quite radically differing styles of storytelling. There is a running theme, that being the tale of “Pink Floyd” (Bob Geldof) who lost his dad during the war, saw his wife abandon him and who ever since he can remember has been sheltering behind a wall - physical and psychological - trying to recover from an overbearing education that did nothing but stifle this young man’s innate sense of creativity. As he hits the heights of musical stardom, his turmoil only increases and the wall starts to exert menacing and containing influences that he might never be able to break down. The ensuing scenarios illustrate and compare forcefully the vulnerability of the young with the temperamentally unsound of the adult, the sexually active and the equally frustrated and by using stylised photography we are taken on quite a rollercoaster ride. If you remember the title sequence from “Yes, Minister” then you’ll recall the pointed and exaggerated style of artistry from Gerald Scarfe who provides my favourite sequence towards the end of this, but also designed a few of the other poignant episodes in the life of a man whom, with the possible exception of Roger Daltrey, I can’t imagine being better portrayed than by a Geldof who puts his heart and soul into something that convinces pretty much entirely. It’s surreal and entertaining and even if the band are not your favourite, this is a film that showcases innovation more strikingly and imaginatively than most music videos that ever followed.