Vals Im Bashir (2008)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Ari Folman

Writer:

Ari Folman (writer)

Release Date:

12 June 2008 (Israel)

Genre:

Animation | Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Lebanon | Bar | Army | Nightmare

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 23 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Ron Ben-Yishai	...	Himself (voice)
Ronny Dayag	...	Himself (voice)
Ari Folman	...	Himself (voice)
Dror Harazi	...	Himself (voice)
Yehezkel Lazarov	...	Carmi Cna'an (voice)
Mickey Leon	...	Boaz Rein-Buskila (voice)
Ori Sivan	...	Himself (voice)
Zahava Solomon	...	Herself (voice)

Also Known As:

Waltz with Bashir (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Valse avec Bachir (France)
Walzer mit Bashir (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing images of atrocities, strong violence, brief nudity and a scene of graphic sexual content.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Israel | Germany | France | USA | Finland | Switzerland | Belgium | Australia

Language:

Hebrew | German | English | Arabic

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Israel:16 (re-rating) | Israel:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA | Netherlands:16 | Germany:12 | Ireland:16 | France:U | Czech Republic:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:R (British Columbia) | Lebanon:(Banned) | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-15 | Sweden:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:16 | Mexico:B15 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Singapore:R21 | Japan:PG12

Company:

Bridgit Folman Film Gang

Trivia:

Artist David Polonsky is right handed, but did most of the illustration for this film with his left hand, as he felt that his original drawing were 'too pretty.'

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The song used in the film, "This Is Not A Love Song" by Public Image Ltd, came out in 1983, even though the war and the massacres depicted in the film happened in 1982.

Quotes:

Anonymous soldier: What to do? What to do? why don't you tell us what to do?
Ari Folman: Shoot!
Anonymous soldier: On who?
Ari Folman: How should I know on who? just shoot!
Anonymous soldier: Isn't it better to pray?
Ari Folman: Pray and shoot!

Movie Connections:

References Defender (1980) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Enola gay

Great, personal film about the horrors of war

I saw this film at the AFI Film Festival a couple of months ago and it stayed with me since then. This is not your typical war movie, nor is it your typical animated film. I'd say its kind of a cross between Waking Life and Grave of the Fireflies.

The film takes place in the present. The film's director, Ari Folman, comes to the realization that he cannot remember anything from the time he served in the Israeli army during the 1982 Lebanon War. The bulk of the movie are his interviews with his old army friends where he asks them what they remember from that time. Folman tries to see in their memories something in himself that has been missing, deadened, or dulled. Like Waking Life, there is no "plot." The filmmaker prefers a more interview-based film. This is an "idea film," a poetic film, and traditional narrative style takes a back seat.

Like Grave of the Fireflies, the animation in Waltz With Bashir shows the horror of war and its effect on individuals in ways that a live action recreation could never replicate. The film's themes of human memory and its elasticity are served well by this technique. Rather than a soldier escaping death by hiding in the sea, we get the larger-than-life memory of a soldier escaping death that would look too "real" in a live action reenactment.