Blog Post #10: Recovering Memory

I have never been so moved such as film as The Waltz with Bashir. It is an Israeli made animation that focuses on Israel’s involvement during the 1982 war in Lebanon. The film maker, Ari Folman, is the main character who has lost his memories about the massacres that took place in Beruit. The entire film is animated conversations Ari had with figures from his past that ultimately serves as a documentary for a person who has post-traumatic disorder that affects memory.*** Spoiler alert! The most jarring part about the film is how disconnected you feel from the carnage and depiction of brutal civil/guerrilla warfare until the end where Ari finally remember the massacre in Beruit where the animation suddenly turns into actual stock footage of the event itself!

I think by using animation to depict war, we as observers are far removed from it in a good way. If the film was 86 minutes of pure stock footage and documentaries, I feel like I would immediately feel too traumatized to internalize the various motifs the film delves into such as: being behind enemy lines, remorse for killing, etc…Instead the incredible use of color, sound and almost comic-book like dark outlines of Ari and others makes the film visually stimulating in a way that allows me to internalize the harsh content. I highly recommend this film, it is at times emotionally draining, but I feel like I gained amazing insight into the hearts and minds of the Israeli soldiers.

ETA: I commented on Sarah Askri’s and  Amanda Cole’s

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