Waltz with Bashir

I saw Waltz with Bashir, an Israeli film that won the best foreign film category in the Oscars. Zev told me a bit about it and described it as a "difficult" movie to sit through because of its context. The movie is based on the protagonist's attempts to remember the 1982 Lebanon War, particularly the massarces at Sabra and Shatilia. He searches out his buddies from the army to figure out what happened and where he was throughout the war. Everyone offered their most pogionant memories.

I did not expect the movie to be animated so I was certainly turned off at first with the sights of wolves running through the city. But over time, I began to appreciate the markings and lines that separated this particular animation style from the recent cartoons on Cartoon Network (I really don't watch anything anyway because I don't like the new techniques). The faces were very expressive and beautifully done, especially the eyes and mouths.

It's also quite graphic by nature with several sexual and nude scenes. So clearly given the overall context and graphics, I would not allow anyone under the age of 17 to see this.

I could understand some of the Hebrew but I'm not sure if it was just the actors' voices or the surround system in the theater that made it harder for me to understand as the language was simple enough for me to read the subtitles in Hebrew (say, instead of English).

The story was interesting but slightly disturbing. You could sense the silence. Clearly Ariel Shaon was an ass in there- he "knew" about it but didn't do anything. I think the silence bothered me more than the gun fires and people getting wounded.

I also think that it does demand the audience to have an understanding of the Israeli military culture- the fears, the need for survival, and the physical toughness. It was almost as if I was watching Jews actually doing something like living out in the desert and fighting under gunfire instead of them hiding behind their Torah. This was exactly the image that Israel wanted to have. If you don't get how they can live in the desert and improvise their cooking, certainly, you're in a very comfortable place.

I would watch this movie again and really analyze it.