Release Date: 1/25/09 (Limited)
Waltz with Bashir, written and directed by Ari Folman, is a foreign animated documentary. It’s a unique film that I couldn’t see being made in any other way then animation. This allowed the director to re-imagined the story that the men being interviewed told. It shows us the hallucinations and dreams they all now suffered from after fighting in the Lebanon War in the 1980’s, and shows the viewers an interesting story with a fresh look at how to tell a story through filmmaking.
The story beings with Ari and an old friend talking in a bar about a recurring nightmare in which Ari’s friend is being chased by 26 vicious dogs. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised because he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this puzzle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He sets out to discover the truth about the time he spent in the war. As Ari researches deeper and deeper into this mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images. One particular vision haunts Ari. It’s one of him and some soldiers standing in the water staring up at destroyed buildings. The documentary is Ari’s way of finding the truth about what happened and the truth about himself.
This isn’t only a great animated film or a great documentary; it’s a great war movie. A war I knew nothing about, which in the end shows some pretty shocking events that took place. It showed some fantastic war scenes and was very suspenseful at parts. Even though it was all animated you could still connect with the characters as they told their stories, and the flashbacks of what happened keep you interested the entire time. One of my favorite scenes was when they explain the title of the film in a part that is sure to stand out. Another aspect of the film I really liked was the music, from the opening intense techno music, to the haunting score, to the music the soldiers sang while riding down the streets in their tanks. Like many good war movies this had an outstanding soundtrack.
Waltz with Bashir is the best foreign film I’ve seen this year and it’s one of the most unique movie experiences I have had in a long time. It’s extremely fascinating and is sure to leave you with many questions about this war that took place and the characters involved. If you are a fan of documentaries and don’t mind an animation or a foreign film then this is definitely one to check out in the theaters.
Yes, a foreign animated documentary just got MADE. Stamp It!
Imdb: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Moviewiseguys: 8.0/10
