Some people find documentaries boring, for they feature a person sitting in a chair, talking about some subject they have never heard of before. Right out of the gate, Waltz With Bashir shatters that cliche. The film is animated, and animated in an edgy, grungey style that immediately sets it apart. The subject is the various stories about the 1982 Lebanon War as told by the soldiers who were there. Waltz With Bashir doesn't follow the typical documentary style of sit, point shoot. It has a beginning, middle and end. I had not previous knowledge of the film upon viewing it and was stunned to find out that it was a documentary. The film follows director Ari Folman, who in 1982 was a 19 year old infantry soldier in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). Now in 2006, a 46 year old Ari meets up in a bar with an old army friend who tells him of the nightmares he's having about what he saw and did in 1982. Ari reveals he has no memory of that time, but as he leaves he has a vision of him and a fellow soldier bathing at night in the seaside in Beirut as the city burned. Folman then visits another army friend who tells him he should get in contact with the other men they were with during the war and discuss what they saw to better his memory. This sets up the rest of the film which is a series of flashbacks as told by the various men he interviews. In total, 8 men were interviewed, each telling a detailed recollection of what they did, where they were and what they saw during the war. Some are slightly humorous while other are sickening as the brutality of reality is disturbing. The title comes from one of the stories, told by Shmuel Frenkel who during a fire fight in the middle of Beirut street, grabs a large machine gun and precedes to dance an insane waltz in the middle of the street amid heavy gun fire. The buildings are covered with large posters of Bachir Gemeyal, the president-elect, and militia commander of Lebanon at the time. The film ends with Ari remembering his unit approaching and entering a Shatila Refugee Camp, where they have to bear witness to the aftermath of the Sabra and Shatila Massacre at which point the film dissolves from animation to real life footage of the massacre.
Waltz With Bashir not only hit on a serious topic of history that many have overlooked or simply not been educated on, but it breaks down film making barriers. The style of the documentary is unlike any that have been done before it. With the exception of the final moments of real footage, the film is entirely animated. We never see real footage of Folman or any of his interviewees. The music is a mix of classical music, and 80's Israeli pop music. Never before have i felt such a grasp of the times then I did with Waltz With Bashir. Stylistically it is a stunning picture. The animation is sharp, edgy and realistic. Even though you are aware that you are viewing an animated film, at times you are so lost in the story that the animation seems appropriate, it works and gels so well that you forget its animated. The concept of his memories being this dreamy trip into the past serves the animation better than anything else could have. You are experiencing his memories how he remembers them, a trippy, hazy flashback that seems so real yet the animation gives it a distant feeling; the memory. Not often do I get this excited over a documentary but Waltz With Bashir is amazing, the words do not yet exist to describe the feeling it leaves you with. Watching it, you feel lost and entranced and as soon as it's over you will be changed. You will remember the time and place you were when you finished watching this film and you won't soon forget it.
Waltz With Bashir is more than a documentary. It is more than a war picture and more than an animated film. It is a bonified classic. It's nominations for various top end awards only cements it status as a masterpiece. This little animated war documentary from Israel made the top ten list of critics from The Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and was honored with award nominations by the BAFTA's, Academy Wards and went as far as winning a Golden Globe. It's safe to say that Waltz With Bashir is not only a documentary milestone, but a world cinema masterpiece.
Photos Courtesy of:
www.imdb.com
www.wikipedia.org
On the contrary I love documentaries, I find them entertaining and intriguing. I love how they give insight into a world I wouldn't know. I can see that you love film and it shows through your writing. Nice job (:
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a animated documentary. It looks intresting I think I will look it up. Thanks.
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