Waltz With Bashir

We have all seen the horrific events that take place at the front lines during times of war. They have been depicted in countless films and documentaries about World War II and the holocaust, Vietnam, the Iraq War. No amount of movie productions can ever let us relive every story of every bloody conflict that our own human race has caused. Nonetheless, stories of war allow us to learn of our past mistakes as a people and show us the true flaws of mankind. In his new animated film, Waltz With Bashir, Ari Folman documents his experiences in the first Lebanese War and the 1982 massacre at Sabra and Shatila. Through artfully unique animation, intense research, and beautiful music, Folman creates a tragic and emotionally intense film.
Without the amount of historical background that Folman put into this film, the movie would be just another “no substance Hollywood” motion picture. Using the fact that the director himself fought in the first Lebanese War and witnessed the massacres of Palestinian civilians at Sabra and Shatila to his advantage, he made this movie thoughtful, insightful, and very informative. The details of the veterans’ interviews, the landscapes, and the several specific incidents that Folman was involved in were very accurate and clearly non-fictitious. Aside from getting his facts straight, Folman integrated several key techniques to make the movie work.
As the movie begins, it comes as a shock to most of the audience that the film is animated. Expecting a movie of serious nature, the idea of a cartoon is slightly upsetting. However, as the plot unveils and the movie goes on, it is evident that Folman has chosen the perfect technique. As we understand that a main idea of the movie is the recovery of memories from the war by means of recurring dreams and other peoples’ accounts, we realize how effective animation really is. The almost surreal combination of dreams, nightmares, and the horrific truth made me feel like I was in a world of fantasy. The vivid colors of the animated war zones, soldiers, and wounded civilians made my heart beat quickly inside my chest, but I was nonetheless eased by the somewhat childish notion that a cartoon cannot be real. This contradictory feeling, caused by the wonderful animation, as by the beautiful music, made me swing back and forth emotionally.
Folman’s choice of music for the film was exquisite. Besides including somewhat comical renditions of popular songs, he added music that was contradictory to the scene. As I sat in my seat, watching a Lebanese boy fire a rocket propelled grenade at Folman and his fellow soldiers, while they quietly walked through a serene, flowery wooded area, a soft classical tune played in the background. Everything was set in slow motion, and although violence ensued, it almost seemed beautiful. Folman is evidently a master of this effect, and he repeated it successfully several times throughout the movie.
Waltz With Bashir still holds on to the gruesome tragedies that usually constitute war, but adds a dreamy tone to it. Overall, Ari Folman’s film is a great success. It takes us on a ride through the real, into the surreal, and back again. It crosses boundaries in an innovative way and puts a new face on wartime movies.