Review of Waltz with Bashir (2008) by Daniel B — 13 Mar 2010

A lot of material for this movie states that it's a documentary, but to watch it you'd never know. After a brief meeting with an old friend, Ari (the director) realises he has no recollection of the Lebanon war which he participated in 20 years previously. The film documents as he attempts to delve into his memories and pieces together what he's forgotten.

Ari interviews old friends to take him back to the days of the war and each person gives him a fragment of a story he's long since forgot. Each fragment is beautifully animated in a simplistic style, disjointed at times and never totally smooth. This adds to the sense that we are seeing glimpses of the past and not the past itself and fits perfectly with the trippy atmosphere of the movie. Each scene feels as though it's a dream (or nightmare) and there's a beauty in the film because of it.

As Ari starts to find out about what happened during the war, we start to realise why he has forgotten. The war was hell and none of the stories he hears are positive. These stories are thoughtful and often speak of personal tragedy. Each tragedy leads up to a much larger tragedy, one repressed in Ari's memory.

At the end of the movie, Ari finally unlocks the door in his mind and for the first time in the movie we skip to reality. We see literally what he seen. Experience what he experienced.

Towards the start of the movie Ari asks his friend "what if I don't want to remember?" His friend states that if he doesn't want to remember he wont, but if he does he'll push himself to find out. When finally he does release the horrible memories inside we see how important they are, but like Ari we want to forget them ourselves. But I know I probably never will.