Synopsis
Two soldiers are lured into a trap by an expert sniper who hopes to use them as further bait to lure more American soldiers into his death zone. One of the aforementioned soldiers, Isaac, finds cover behind a crumbling wall, which provides salvation and time to put all his military skills to use in order to survive his hellish ordeal.
Warning! Mild Spoilers Ahead
Patience Is a Virtue That Could Save Your Life
I recently got into watching war films, visiting both recent and classic titles within the genre. The films would entertain but also make me give pause to the conditions upon which these terrible ordeals were made possible, and the long lasting effects it would have on all involved.
From the mud soaked trenches bustling with activity against the backdrop of bombs and a chorus of shrieks and wails, to the sweeping shots of landscapes strewn with the bodies of the fallen, their divine sparks long since departed. These films would provide entertainment and much reflection on the seeds and fruits of war, and The Wall was an unexpected gem that posed a different set of questions.
The film would begins with a shot of a rifle's end, subtly sticking out from a think clump of dried shrubbery and army camouflage. Two soldiers would patiently survey a valley floor where a distress call had come from, the collection of dead bodies providing only small clues to the secret of their collective demise, and the particulars of those who brought it about.
Soldiers Matthews and Isaac would bounce theories off one another, Matthews(John Cena) believing the scene to simply be the aftermath of a simple surprise attack on the part of a few disgruntledlocals. His spotter, Isaac, would on the contrary give voice to the possibility of an opposing sniper, or more dramatically, a very skilled sniper who's body count had transformed him from man to myth. With the hours ticking by and no activity to speak of, Matthews would break one of the golden rules in the sniper's unwritten bible, and that rule is to never let impatience drive your decisions.
Stepping out from his cover, Matthews would get a closer look at the scene, the entry and exit wounds of the victims providing the missing puzzle pieces to the massacre's mystery. The realization of the landscape's true nature would come too late, as Matthews would end up with a bullet in his stomach before he could draw a breath.
Isaac, aka Iys, would make another bad mistake in the sniper's rule book, don't run into the open to save or aid an injured comrade. Even with his fancy footwork, Isaac would end up with a slug in his knee, forcing him to take cover behind a crumbling wall of stone, and it is indeed in the shadow of this wall that the remainder of the film would play out.
A Just War?
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the scorching Afghan heat would only further compound Isaac's problems. With his radio antennae and water bottle both shot out, he would find himself with out any help or any means to stave off dehydration. With fatigue setting in from the loss of blood, he would go on to doze off only to be woken by radio communications inquiring into his status and location.
However, the exchanges would lead to skepticism over otherwise dubious military extraction procedures, and the rather sharp Isaac would come to the discouraging realization that his communication was not with a fellow American concerned for his well being, but rather with the very man who gifted the two soldiers with bullets in their bodies. Isaac's worst fears come to life when he realizes that he isn't dealing with some disgruntled Afghan soldier looking to kill a few intruders, but rather a highly trained sniper who honed his skills as a mole within the American military system, studying his foes closely in the hopes of using all their resources and knowledge against them.
The film plays out like a chess match, with one side operating at the largest of disadvantages. As the cunning sniper looks to gather intel on his prey, Isaac works desperately to find a way out of his predicament, using every survival tactic that lies at his disposal after years of training. However, as time goes on, He comes to an even more grisly conclusion of his current circumstances, and that is that he was not the first to find himself in it, and whats worse is he may not be the last.
The War Is Over?
When a film begins with somebody like John Cena or any other popular action star, one can't help but roll the eyes and begin calculating how the film will essentially play out in a predictable manner. Cena, of course, the highly popular protagonist would most likely overcome all the odds to find his way back to his pregnant wife pruning the bushes behind the white picket fence. These were basically the lines I was drawing when I first started watching The Wall, but I' m very pleased to say that the film didn't only take a left turn on the road to this possibility, but packed the car full of C4 and blew it all up.
To my mind, the elements that make for a good film lie in its ability to intrigue and keep people guessing. The Wall succeeds on both counts, and from the first gut wrenching moans of pain from our main characters, you find yourself hooked and rooting for the badly injured soldiers struggling to survive.
As the films progresses though, one may find the briefest of moments where the exchanges between Isaac and his hunter make us question our own psychology, to put it more specifically, why do we route for Isaac against a larger backdrop of national intervention? Why is it that we almost automatically consider this crafty ghost with a gun the enemy? For as the saying goes, whats the robbing of a bank compared to the starting of a bank? What is the killing of a few soldiers to the large scale invasion from an uninvited nation?
I understand I find myself treading on precarious grounds here, but I speak purely within the context of the film and the interesting dynamic between it's two main characters. Isaac's adversary is more than happy to demonstrate how he not only possesses the physical high ground, but the moral one too, the very wall that Isaac finds refuge behind the great focal point for symbolism.
It isn't always easy to confine a film to a single area, but The Wall managed to truly create a nail biting story within a landscape where several possibilities were given space to grow. Even though the war is considered over, Isaac finds himself in the single most difficult battle of his life, where several truths about his mystery adversary and himself are brought to the surface like boiling water that can no longer be contained within the pot. The audience is forced to reconsider their definition of war while helplessly watching on as the drama unfolds.
Supplementing the tension, mystery and madness of the situation, is also the amazing set of skills taught to the soldiers in times when survival is imperative. Isaac's skills are on full display behind his wall as he tends to his wounds or uses mathematics to calculate where his opponent is shooting from bases solely on the sound of the shot. Needless to say, there's a lot going on here for a film that takes place in a single location for the duration of it's run time, and its one that had me massively invested in it's outcome.
The Wall may be a film that flew under the radar, but it's a wonderfully written one with a message as subtle as the snipers who disappear into the surroundings. It's as much a great film for lovers of drama and suspense as it is for those with a love for war movies,let's just say this one is a good addition to an evening screening. Happy viewing :).
