Waltz with Bashir is a rare breed of film. An animated documentary, Waltz with Bashir is a haunting, introspective look at the tragedies and costs of war. The film couldn’t have a more timely release coming off renewed violence between Israel and Palestine. Writer/Director Ari Folman served in the Israeli Army in 1982 as a wet behind the ears, nineteen year-old. Folman is surprised to find he has no memories of the time he served when Israeli forces invaded Lebanon. Waltz with Bashir finds Folman on a journey of self-discovery as he attempts to awaken the hidden areas of his mind.
The film begins with one of Folman’s comrades recounting a recurring nightmare he has had for over twenty years. In the dream, twenty-six dogs run through the streets in an effort to hunt him down. The soldier begins to remember that he was ordered to shoot any dogs they came across during night patrol lest they alert enemy forces. His story begins to trigger Folman’s lost memories. The image that pops to his mind is he and two other soldiers emerging nude from the water as a flare lights up bombed out Beirut with a strange orange glow. Folman speaks with other soldiers as well as a journalist who all have firsthand knowledge of the Lebanon war. One soldier speaks of arriving on the beaches of Beirut and opening fire on a moving car which held only an innocent family. Another comrade tells of the time he was left behind enemy lines after his tank squadron came under attack. He also interviews a therapist friend and a psychologist who help him understand the nature of the mind.
Folman’s choice of using a combination of hand-drawn and Flash animation was a genius decision that works on multiple levels. One, it gives Waltz with Bashir a unique look that elevates the documentary from the staid recreations and talking head interviews that it would have normally been. The animation also accentuates the fluidity and of dreams and memories. Folman is able to capture many of the surreal recollections of his interview subjects such as the opening nightmare or the tale of a soldier’s dream of being swept away by a giant woman in the nude.
The Bashir in the film’s title is Bashir Gemayel, a Lebanese-Christian who was elected president only to be assassinated nine days before taking office. In response, the Israel Defense Forces invaded Beirut then stood by as a Lebanese Christian militia massacred unarmed villagers in revenge. Women, children, and whole families were lined up against a wall and gunned down. The majority of foot soldiers had no idea of the scope of the atrocities even while some witnessed it with their own eyes. Waltz with Bashir ends with real footage of the massacre’s aftermath with scenes of weeping mothers and wives, of dead sons and husbands and a child buried under rubble.
Rating: *** ½
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