Review XXX
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
I've been meaning to watch Ari Folman's Vals Im Bashir, or, in English, Waltz with Bashir, since I heard it was nominated for an Oscar. The poster was the first thing that captivated me - I thought it looked stunning. The story also seemed interesting - a psychological biographical journey - but it was soon added to the long list of films I wanted to watch. My friend showed me a site dedicated to movie-watching (I always download movies, much to the dismay of my one friend who complains that my computer cannot handle it), and I decided to test it by searching up some films. Well, Waltz with Bashir was one of them, and I finally watched it. I'm glad I didn't watch it when I first heard about it in 2008/09 - I don't think I would have been able to appreciate it.
The film begins with Ari Folman, who served in the Israel Defense Forces when he was nineteen during the Lebanon War, listening to the nightmare his friend from his service time in the army has been having in which twenty-six dogs are chasing him. Ari Folman realises that he doesn't remember anything from the time he spent in the war - and so begins a journey to discover his hidden memory.
I would like to explain the Lebanon War in greater detail, but I find the film does a good job of explaining what happens. It is also linked to the emotional dismay Ari Folman (yes, the director of the film) feels in the end, so I'd say, unless you already know about the 1982 war, wait until afterward to really look into it. I'll give the basic details though. Basically, the 1982 Lebanon War started when Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, was nearly assassinated by the Abu Nidal Organisation, a military splinter group led by Abu Nidal, a Palestinian political leader. We already know Palestine and Israel are in awful terms with each other, but how does Lebanon tie in? Syria had a quite an influence over Lebanon, and Israel, along with expelling the Palestine Liberation Organisation and having a pro-Israel Christian government led by Bashir (or Bachir) Gemayel established in Lebanon (thank you, Wikipedia), believed that in destroying this influence, Israel would benefit with peace. However, we can already guess that that it didn't go too well considering Israel has not seen peace since it got its independence in 1948. I shan't say anymore since the film goes into greater detail, and I wouldn't want to ruin it!
Let me start off by saying that I thought the animation was really, really cool. While you get the impression that the film has been rotoscoped (that is, taking real footage and drawing over it - as seen partly in the film Heavy Metal), it hasn't. Instead, another technique was used consisting of classic animation and Adobe Flash cutouts. Either way, it looks pretty realistic and the drawing is wonderful. I loved the intense shadows and some scenes just look beautiful - as seen on the cover of the film. I'm a big fan of animation, and this film takes a unique, wonderful spin on it. Also, this is a biographical film, and yet it's animated. I find that pretty amazing too. It still conveys the message it wants to send, and I even think the animation allows a lot of scenes in it to not be too cheesy, had it been made with real people. While CGI has improved immensely, the film was made four years ago and CGI can be hard to get right. I'm glad an animated film was made - it was as aesthetically appealing as the film was moving!
... Yes, the film was moving. The story is grim and is really depressing, but it's well done. We get interviews with different people who either were part of the war or documenting it. It gives such a human touch to it, minus the fact that it is about Ari Folman's journey. We get to hear about the war from different perspectives and it really helps intensify the story.
I'd give this film seven point eight stars on ten. It was really very beautiful and the story was interesting, but I found some stories a bit lacking. I also would have enjoyed Ari Folman's discovery a bit more - I find, once he remembers everything, we just skim over his reaction. That bothered me a bit... Otherwise, it was an interesting, and different, film. Recommended if you enjoy war films.
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