Waltz With Bashir
Thursday, 7:00 pm, Newcomb AND Sunday, 1:00, Regal Downtown #3
Director: Ari Folman
Writer: Ari Folman
Art Direction: David Polonsky
Cast (voice): Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman
Running Time: 90 min
Waltz With Bashir is a stunning exploration of war, memory, and the disturbingly subjective nature of truth. Weaving together documentary and animation, director/writer Ari Folman examines his own role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982.
In 1982, Folman was a 20-year-old infantry soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. As the film opens, he is having a drink in a bar with an old friend who was on the force with him in Lebanon. His friend tells him of a recurring dream in which exactly 26 vicious dogs rampage through the streets on their way to devour him. The pack seeks revenge because of an incident in which the dreamer had to kill 26 Palestinian watchdogs so as not to be detected during night patrols. This exchange leads Folman to realize that he has almost no memories of this period. In an effort to piece together what happened and how he was involved, he begins to interview others who were there. While the film does uncover much buried history, it is truly about the effect of war on soldiers and civilians, and the transient nature of memory.
Folman, an experienced documentarian, made the film by first shooting the 90-page script with live actors, and then having animators re-create the stories with remarkably vivid hand-drawn animations that give Waltz With Bashir an air of universality. David Polonsky (art director), Yoni Goodman (chief animator), and Max Richter (score) worked alongside Folman.
Waltz With Bashir took four years to complete but has garnered quick attention since its 2008 release. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and received multiple nominations from the Israeli Film Academy.
