Waltz With Bashir

[JoeyLeone25]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185616/

 

Released in the UK now. Limited US release on the 25th of Dec.

 

It's rare that I usually leave the cinema speechless, before engaging in hours (literally) of discussion with those around me, but 'Waltz With Bashir' is no ordinary film for no ordinary audience. Emotionally enthralling, yet uneasily shocking, 'Bashir' follows director Ari Goldman as he visits various friends and foes trying to rekindle the memories he has forgotten of the Israeli-Lebanon War in 1982. Shot in memorizing animated visuals, it is a thought-provoking ride through the rediscovery of one man's forgotten nightmares.

 

From the opening surrealist shot of twenty-six dogs rabidly racing down the Tel Aviv streets towards the 'dreamers' (Ari's friend) home, to the ending where the animation is sacrificed for a few short minutes to show the real, unaltered horrors of the Sabra and Shatila massacre from news reels and archive footage. Surrealism is constantly mixed with the truth, making you wonder, what did Ari really want to find out and to what end? Is this all he and those remembered, or what there memories would allow them to keep encapsulated.

 

A frighteningly stark look at a young soldiers life, and how war can effect everybody involved, not just those remembered as a statistic on a board of casualties. As we delve further into his regained memories, we are made to wonder, is this journey exercising his demons, or simply just reigniting them? With the stunning visuals keeping you emotionally at arms length, detracting you from the events, before quickly dragging you back in with a horrifically haunting ending.

 

'Waltz With Bashir' is compelling, thought-provoking viewing.

[Ottae]

Really want to go and see this, but it's not showing at my local cinema, which I was pissed off about.

 

I was reading the review in Empire and wanted to see it.

[Rhoda]

So this is what that clip I saw was. One of the many advertisements I saw while in the cinema last week was a "films to see this winter" featurette, and while this wasn't mentioned by name, I saw a shot of a plane going over a man waving his arms in a Scanner Darkly style manner of animation. This must've been it, and I must say I'm interested after reading up on it. I'll see if I can catch it in my local Cineworld.

[Ottae]

Just checked on the Odeon site, it's only showing at 9 Odeon theatres. Lame.

 

Barnet

Camden

Covent Garden

Guildford

Kingston

Manchester

South Woodford

Swiss Cottage

Wimbledon.

 

Probably have to wait for the DVD