MOVIE: Waltz with Bashir

I saw this superb movie yesterday. Spurred by the story of a recurring nightmare told to him by one of his close friends Ari goes in search of the source of one of his recurring images from his time as a 19 year old in the Israeli army during the war in Lebanon in 1982.

He seeks out friends who were also in Lebanon at that time, each of whom has their own particular nightmare to share. Fighting his own selective memory and feelings of guilt, Ari pieces the stories of his friends together with his own memories in order to journey to the source of his trauma, the witnessing of the aftermath of the massacre of Palistinean refugees at Sabra and Shatila.

The film merges documentary with animation as the audio of Ari's real-life interviews with his friends are spliced together and then animated in order to make the film. The animation allows the director creative license in illustrating the various accounts of the former Israeli solders' experiences and to some extent softens the grim reality of the content of their memories. Perhaps most effective of all however is the unexpected and paralyzing switch to real archive footage to remind the viewer of the fact that, despite the seductively comforting hues of the animater's brush, the story being described actually took place in a much more frightening reality.

I found myself reminded of the writings of Hannah Arendt on the Haulocaust. She writes of how the Nazi regime managed to rip the theoretical concepts of Heaven and Hell from the almost comforting realms of fantasy and render them in reality by creating Hell on Earth. The film is a potent reminder of the almost banal nature of the reality of a genocide when compared with the fear that the word itself can engender. When we think of genocide we think of a society out of control, which in its disorder has lost all sense of humanity. However, this film is a strong reminder that genocides tend to be highly-organised, specifically intended and carried out and often overseen by extra-ordinary people.

I know very little about the existence or attitude of the Israeli national conscience concerning the 1982 war in Lebanon. However, as I watched this film, I felt like I was witnessing the voicing of an important chapter, perhaps an as yet relatively unheard voice, in Israel's national identity.

The music is amazingly evocative and beautifully utilised.

Check out the trailer below.