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| LFF: Waltz with Bashir |
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| Written by Ivan Radford |
| Friday, 24 October 2008 00:00 |
 A week into the proceedings, and the London Film Festival unleashes its most unique piece: the animated war movie, Waltz With Bashir. A hard-hitting, breathtaking assault on the Lebanon war in the 80s, its relevance and graphical wizardry make it the must-see of the festival. Its UK premiere is tonight. Dogs. 26 of them. Blue, slavering beasts, tearing through the streets of Lebanon, their feet pounding out the staccato rhythms of an automatic rifle. 26 dogs bearing down upon one hounded Isreali soldier. Every night, the same number. Talking in a bar to his filmmaker friend, Ari Folman (the director himself), they link his recurring nightmare to the Lebanon war they both served in. Strangely, Ari can’t remember any of it. Determined to discover the part he played, especially in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut, he interviews former friends from the force (voiced by themselves), unearthing more of the past and of himself. A difficult topic, then, for an animated feature to cover – in fact, Waltz with Bashir falls into the rare category of animated documentary. Consistently playing with colours and shadows, Folman creates a stylized cell-shaded conflict, which heightens the impact of every frame. Synchronising the visuals with the soundtrack, Ari's explosions erupt against a mix of Schubert and 80s rock, juxtaposing songs like “I Bombed Beirut” with the striking and, at times, horrific images - a repeated sequence of Israeli troops, slowly advancing out of the sea, is particularly haunting. Asked to recall what they can, the eyewitnesses reveal the effect of war upon its participants; at times stranded in the field, at others relaxed in the routines of breakfast on the beach, they are ultimately helpless, unable to act even when a genocide is taking place round the corner. Plagued by guilt, they return to their pasts, where they distanced themselves from the killing: “I viewed it all as though through a camera”. As the shocking flashbacks unfold, the personal nature of the project is increasingly apparent – the film itself is Ari’s own coping mechanism. After 96 minutes of exploration, his remorse never reaches redemption. Waltz with Bashir may be one of the shortest war movies ever made, but it’s easily one of the most affecting. |
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