Review of Waltz with Bashir (2008) by Hugo G — 19 Oct 2009
Waltz with Bashir is at heart a fairly straight-forward documentary, as director Ari Folman interviews those who had served in the Lebanon War in order to try to piece together events in his own mind. What makes it stand out is that it is animated, and what's more in in a stilted and surreal style, in order to capture the fogged, dreamlike or downright hallucinatory recollections of the interviewees.
It all builds to the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Initially these scenes fail to give a coherent picture of the event, and are vague on the role played by Israel and Folman himself. But then comes a truly spectacular ending - as the 'camera' focuses in on Folman's eyes the movie switches from animation to crushingly real news archive footage, shattering the illusion of distance the animation has built up.
It's a masterstroke end to a flawed but important film.
This review of Waltz with Bashir (2008) was written by Hugo G on 19 Oct 2009.
Waltz with Bashir has generally received very positive reviews.
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