A Waltz with Bashir

Scene from "Waltz with Bashir"

WOOF! WOOF! And the dogs race towards you screaming; the men are quietly debating what happened during their time as Lebanon War soldiers. BANGBANGBANG! And the mortars are roaring while the guns spew death; the men are quietly debating what happened. I look at the screen and a spastic storyteller comes to mind. This erratic movie caught me entirely off guard with its different spasms of sound and visuals.

This Waltz follows the path of a Lebanon war vet trying to recover his memories of the war many years later. The war vet is actually the director, Ali Folman, himself. Scenes are animated in this production, and it adds a certain depth to it that cannot be obtained otherwise. You could do things in an animated movie that would be quite out of place in a real life movie 0 the “waltz” for which this movie is named comes to mind. There is something peculiar about watching a soldier dodge bullets and shotting enemies all while dancing. Shoot. Dance. Dodge. Shoot. Dodge. Dance.

The refugee massacre that shocked the world decades ago again makes an appearance that shakes up the atmosphere. The streets are paved in red. The walls are paved in red. My eyes are paved in red. Bashir withholds nothing from the war or from the audience. However, in the midst of telling a solemn war story, Folman opts to introduce some indecency. Watching an animated plumber have sex with a client is not my cup of tea.

Blocky animation and mesmerizing music coupled with an intriguing war story gives Bashir a good edge over other contemporary documentaries.