A Gun Wound Never Healed: Waltz With Bashir
Japanese animation movies have made for themselves a stellar reputation: just think of Ghibli studios and their influences on fashion and food.
Even more recent films like Your Name have revolutionized the heights that animated movies can take for the better. But, outside of these circles, they are animation films that are just as good. Waltz With Bashir, by Ari Folman, is one of them.
Waltz With Bashir is a tale familiar to too many people. War creates crevasses in the soul that are inconsolable, and its ravages echo onto the next generations. Ari Folman wrote, produced, and directed this semi-autobiographical documentary in 2008 about the Lebanon War in 1982.
It’s 2006, and Folman has a blank in place of his memories of being deployed in Lebanon, during the war. His friends all remember vividly the waking nightmare which was their military service, but Ari Folman only has fragments of memories, unable to connect them together. Upon meeting with a therapist who encourages him to piece together the truth, he goes to interview his friends to recall the events prior to his amnesia. Through that, Folman remembers the massacres and trauma caused by the war: his guilt resurfaces, as well as hellish visions of inhumane sceneries of the mercilessness caused by power and hunger.
Ari Folman’s film is an absolute masterpiece: evoking pain without it becoming trauma porn, it is a beautifully executed adult animation movie. The art and colors used illustrate the climate and characters’ feelings masterfully, painting grief, isolation, death, and shame in their best portraits.
Waltz With Bashir brings back the memories of many who suffered in the complicated conflicts surrounding the War of Lebanon, which unfortunately reflects the reality that many Middle Easterns still face today. Waltz With Bashir is a vulnerable and eye-opening film about PTSD and the effects of war and won 45 of its 63 nominations.
About the Author:
Mizuki Khoury
Born in Montreal, based in Tokyo. Sabukaru’s senior writer and works as an artist under Exit Number Five.
