'Waltz with Bashir' review

(Credit: Ari Folman and David Polonsky/Sony Classics)

Photos:

Writer-director Ari Folman reunites with old friends in hopes of figuring out why he barely remembers anything about his time in the Israeli Army during the first Lebanon War in the early ‘80s. The film jumps back and forth between wartime experiences and Folman’s interviews with comrades, as he tries to piece together his past, not totally unlike John Cusack’s search for clarity in “High Fidelity.”

The buzz: “Bashir” arrives a year after the surprise hit “Persepolis,” another animated tale about torment in the Middle East (though that’s where the similarities end). Can this visually captivating tale find the same audience?

The verdict: Folman’s friend’s dream of being attacked by 26 dogs gets “Bashir” off to an intense start, and real-life footage at the end reinforces that the massacre Folman can’t remember is true and traumatizing in ways (most) people can never forget. In between, though, the film is redundant, redundant, redundant, alternating between conversations and reflections with a rhythm that dulls the impact of a man diving into the hidden corners of his mind. You may not gain insight on how long it takes to deal with the past but can’t deny the film’s ability to visualize the madness of war.

Did you know? As it turns out, jokes about car bombings—“They’re a real blast!”—aren’t terribly funny. There’s a shocker.

Add a comment