Mabel Munoz
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
Grzegorz Muskala's most known work "Die Frau hinter der Wand" or "Whispers Behind the Wall" (the literal translation is actually "Woman Behind the Wall") is a German 95-minute movie from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year. It was a production for the small screen and you could say that it fits all kinds of genres: drama, thriller, horror, mystery, crime, maybe even romance. It's up for you to decide what is the crucial component in here. The cast does include some names that German film buffs have come across in other projects, but really only in the smaller roles, such as Zischler, Kinski or Stadlober. In terms of the core players Panzner sounds familiar, Heyer somewhat too but I am not sure about that. The lead actor I am not sure I have even heard the name ever before, at least not knowingly, even if I have seen Jack for example.But back to this one here. This is the story of a young man who rents an apartment and enters into a sexual relationship with her landlady. But all kinds of conflicts result from that. What happened to the previous landlord? How does the woman's husband react to all that? And what other secrets may be hiding under the surface? These are the core aspects in here basically. I think it is a relatively simple premise and may be a bit tough to construct a 90-minute film around that, so I am not too surprised that the film has more than just a few sequences when it lags a bit and has some lengths. Perhaps the film also relies a bit too much on the sexual and forbidden aspect for its own good. I would have preferred this film to run for 70-75 minutes only as with better focus, it could have been a decent outcome and could have breathed new life into a relatively simple plot. The actors have the talent for making this work I believe. Especially Panzner is way better than what he was allowed to show us here. Overall, the way it actually turned out, I cannot give this one a thumbs-up sadly. Even the atmospheric component is not as good (let alone memorable) as it could have been. And you could see that they wanted it to be crucial here, for example the use of the color red. But they came short in this department too. I suggest you watch something else instead.
