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The Wall is a fantastic experiment of pseudo-avant-garde cinema that will, at the very least, make you think. Now don't get me wrong, thinking isn't all it's cracked up to be, and I do enjoy the occassional vacation from thinking movies, but this is one that you'll have to watch yourself before deciding if it's great or horrible. There's little gray area here.

Like many films before and after it, The Wall exposes various social ills along with rise of fascism, although it may be the only film to do it with such artistic style. Pink (Bob Geldof) flashes back to his troubled early childhood, beginning with the death of his father in the war. He proceeds to re-live his life, exposing social corruption along the way. At times the movie melts into animated sequences reminiscient of music videos like Pearl Jam's Do the Evolution and Korn's craptastic Freak on a Leash.

From the start of the film it is clear that Pink is haunted by the death of his father and World War II in general. The young Pink (Kevin McKeon) yearns for a fatherly figure, while the adult Pink continually watches old war movies, perhaps hoping he'll find his father there. I thought the most powerful scene was of the young Pink wandering through the train station as the soldiers returned. He saw heroes and happiness everywhere, while he was left alone and fatherless. It was this bitterness towards an unfair life that clinged to him like a leach.

As a rock star Pink holds a lot of power, and he turns an entire crowd of fans into bigoted fascists in an instant. The reason for this sudden turn to fascism once again relates to the death of his father. It was the Jews and homosexuals that Hitler wanted to banish, which lead to World War II. It was this war that killed Pink's father. Instead of blaming Hitler and the Nazis he blames the minorities that the Nazis were trying to eliminate through war.

I thought this film had a very powerful message, but at the same time it was just too weird to watch more than once. I guess this is how Pink Floyd does things, but it works better with music than on the big screen.

Rating: 6 out of 10