Waltz with Bashir

Watched Waltz With Bashir on DVD on friday night. The synopsis and review are as follows.

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there is a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.

Waltz With Bashir is definitely a haunting and resonating animation movie. The war themes in the movie are powerful yet depressing at the same time. The light flares over the city of Beirut strike a stark and vivid imagery which is even more significant given that the movie is based on real life war events. The 1982 Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila Massacre were events that many of us were unfamiliar with and the movie brought to audiences to light the immense suffering and pain that some Lebanese and Palestinian refugees went through.

Winner of Golden Globe Best Foreign Film, this Israel animation on war brims with unspeakable regret and events that the parties involved will never forget.

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