Film review: Waltz with Bashir

Article published: Sunday, February 8th 2009

Dir: Ari Folman

A pack of snarling fang-toothed dogs rush towards the screen. Barking in a ferociously menacing chorus they seem to almost leap into the audience. This is the opening scene of Waltz with Bashir, the recurring nightmare of Ari Folman, writer, director and producer. The scene quickly cuts to his discussion with an old comrade and they conclude the dream is connected to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War in 1982.

The film is the autobiographical story of an Israeli ex-soldier attempting to discover his role in the Sabra and Shatila Massacre. Through a series of interviews with ex-soldiers who fought alongside him, we follow Folmans process of recollection, through a series of flashbacks.

A documentary exposÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â© of Israels participation in the dirty war, the film goes as far as comparing Israels involvement in the massacre with the Warsaw ghettos in Nazi Germany.

The poignant and often haunting musical score accompanies the photo-realistic animation masterfully. After returning home post-war, Folman walks down a street with a newly awakened sensibility while This is Not a Love Song blasts ironically on the radio.

Waltz with Bashir is a successful study on the re-patching of memory while commenting on the wasteful killing that war produces. Its a 3D graphic novel come alive, a scathing look at the violence produced by unquestioned authority, making it one of the most important films of the year.

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