One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there's a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties.
Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing any more about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.
Special Agent Matti
Wow! The animation in Waltz with Bashir is great! The war violence is awesome while the interviews are so detailed that it's hard to remember that you're watching a cartoon. In some instances the colouring is stunning, at other times it is so dry and dusty that you find yourself desperate for something to wet your whistle.
Clearly, the protagonist, who is something of an "EveryJew" is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, brought about by the evils that people can get away with committing during war and left to fester by poor debriefing from the Israeli military. I doubt that any army has debriefed its warriors with any true thoughts toward making them sane. Why would they bother? Ex-soldiers are not their concern (See also Stop Loss).
Something else that comes through clearly is the camaraderie of young men thrown together to fight for their lives with far less information than they need to survive. "Fog of war" my arse, it's all about power-hungry politicians, egotistic generals and poor communication skills.
Waltz with Bashir is a surprisingly subtle journey of discovery through the horrors of war and the suffering of the surviving soldiers. Someone once said that living is harder than dying. Ari Folman certainly agrees.
The animation, documentary, Israel movie Waltz with Bashir is directed by Ari Folman and stars Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman.
MA 15+ (Graphic war footage and strong animated sex scene)
90 minutes (1:30 hours)
Film: 11 September 2008
