By David Shoo
The film’s trailer gives it a dark “sin city” look. The publicity photo of a lonesome man standing outside in the cold suggests it’s an inventive attempt to blend animation with classical film noir.
However, Ari Folman‘s animated “war-doc” exceeds our expectations. The impressive textures, sounds and overall plot makes Waltz with Bashir one of this years must-see films.
STORY
At just 19, Ari Folman did national service with the Israeli military forces. He would soon find himself at the centre of a massacre that till now remains one of the darkest points in middle-eastern relations.
After a meeting with an old army friend in the year 2006, Folman can’t stop dreaming about a peculiar battle he had in Beirut.
He finds himself questioning several friends, army-colleagues and psychiatrists to uncover the mysteries of the dream. Without any credible explanation, the troubled filmmaker is forced to question if the battle is a symbolic reference to the tragedies of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.
Unlike Pixar‘s Cars and Wall-E, Waltz with Bashir proves that animations don’t need to be querky or slapstick. The stunning photography effectively conveys a dark but thrilling moment in the Lebanese-Israeli conflict.
Folman courageously secludes himself from the mainstream by abandoning a conventional storyline. You can forget that this is the year’s best animation (which quite frankly it is) and appreciate it as a genuine cinematic masterpiece.