22nd October 2009

Waltz with Bashir
(Vals Im Bashir)

Director: Ari Folman

Israel, France, Germany, USA, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, 2008

Run Time: 89 minutes, Certificate: ,
Genre: Documentary, Animation, Biography, Drama, War, Language: Hebrew, Arabic, German, English

Synopsis:

Powerfully anti-war animated documentary by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman. The film explores a period in Folman's life when he was enlisted as a teenage soldier in the first Lebanon war in the early 1980s, during which time he was present at the massacre of Palestinian refugees by a Christian Phalangist militia. Looking back, Folman realises that he has blocked out practically all memories of this horrific event. Resolving to face up to this missing chapter of his past, he embarks on a voyage of self-discovery involving interviews with old friends and former colleagues from around the world. As he delves deeper into the mystery, his dreams and memories begin to surface, and these are represented in the film's eerie and often surreal animated sequences.

Average score 5.25

30th Season's Programme