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War films may seem a bit old hat now, all following conventions and plots that smack of inevitability. Waltz With Bashir, a new film by Ari Folman, breaks with the traditions of the conventional war film and makes for powerful, if unsettling viewing.
Created by the director whilst he struggled to come to terms with his part in the First Lebanon War in 1982, Waltz With Bashir provides a stark and honest account of Folman’s memories of his time in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Folman’s film proves that animation is not just for kids – there is certainly nothing Disney-esque about this film.
Unlike most war films, Waltz With Bashir opens not with a battle scene, but with an nightmare sequence featuring a pack of 26 snarling dogs rampaging through the city streets. This opening forms the basis for the film, as it depicts a recurring dream of one of Folman’s friends who was also in the IDF. This dream, which turns out to be related to his friend’s activities during the war, prompts Folman to wonder why he has no memories of his time spent as a soldier in the First Lebanon War. What follows is a very personal film, made up of flashbacks, present day conversations with acquaintances, and dream sequences.
Though the film is a little slow at points, this pace fits with Folman’s gradual unravelling of his traumatic memories of the war. The hallucinatory feel that permeates the whole film, not just the dream sequences, adds a fantastical element to the action depicted. At first glance, you might think that this would detract from the powerful message, but the ultimate result is quite the opposite.
In a time where people are often numb to the graphic images of conflict they see on the news, Folman’s choice to use animation in Waltz With Bashir is understandable – the flashbacks are rendered as unsettlingly surreal, lodging them more powerfully in the viewer’s memory. Like Persepolis before it, Folman’s film proves that animation is not just for kids – there is certainly nothing Disney-esque about this film.
Ultimately, Waltz With Bashir is not a film to watch if you’re after a bit of light entertainment, but it certainly deserves the high praise it has been awarded for its powerful and unblinking focus on the atrocities of war. With such high standards of cinematography and style, any film wishing to follow in its footsteps will be setting itself a hard task.
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