Director: Ari Folman
Time: 90 minutes (plus trailers)
This years Golden Globe winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Waltz With Bashir, or Vals Im Bashir as it is pronounced in Hebrew, is an animated documentary about the Israeli-Lebanon war of 1982, and specifically the assassination of Lebanese President Bashir Gemayal and the subsequent retaliation by Lebanese militants that resulted in the execution of hundreds of Palestinian refugees at the now imfamous Sabra and Shatila massacre. The film follows an animated version of filmmaker and former Israeli soldier Ari Folman in 2006 as he tracks down members of his old platoon in order to piece together his missing memories about the war. The interviews, which have also been animated, are broken up by flashbacks/re-enactments of different battles fought by the platoon that slowly reveal to the audience (and to Folman himself) to what extent he was involved in the events of the massacre.
This way this film has been made is incredible. Although the stories and events depicted in the film are all allegedly true, the structure of the film, cutting between the present day and the war, make it seem like narrative feature, and the audience is kept guessing as to what secret memories are hidden in Folman’s mind. Each real person that Folman interviewed has been recreated as a cartoon, as have the stories they tell. The animation is highly stylized; RPG’s fly through the air in slow motion, and a soldiers ‘waltz’ through the streets avoiding sniper fire. Sometimes all we see is a cartoon man sitting against a plain backdrop talking about the war, and other times the film goes on bizarre flights of fancy, giving us insights into the thoughts and dreams of the troops or the filmmaker himself. This film clearly takes it’s cues from classic war films such as Platoon and Apocalypse Now; the sudden, unflinching violence, the combination of rock and classical music, as well as the surreal, seemingly drug induced visuals are proof of this. The colour palette is saturated with yellows, punctuated everyone so often with bright red as bullets rip through unsuspecting soldiers and civilians alike.
The fact that this film was produced and financed in part by the Israeli Film Fund is sort of strange, given that the Israeli armed forces were at least complicit in the massacre, and despite the fact that the events depicted in this movie occurred more than 25 years ago, given the current situation in Gaza it is clear that the movie will remain relevant for some time. This film is at times very upsetting; the scenes in the refugee camp reminded me of Schindlers List, and the abrupt change that occurs a few minutes before the end credits role (you’ll know it when you see it) is as brilliant as it is devastating, and I sat in the cinema in silence for minutes afterward, stunned. The film is worth seeing for the final shot alone; the great animation, incredible visuals and surprisingly captivating storyline (as much as a doc can have a storyline) make Waltz With Bashir a must see.
