According to the Greek philosopher Plato ” Only the dead have seen the end of war”. This is in many ways the basic idea behind every war movie and it presents itself with 2 distinct options for the film to address it. First a film may glorify the heroic sacrifice of the men and women who die in combat to show the incredible amount of courage and strength necessary to do so ( think of Glory or 300 ). The second option is to not focus on those who died, but instead on those who live and how their lives have been shaped by the experience of war. Neither approach is inherently better than the other but since the Vietnam War film has slowly moved more and more towards the more 2nd option.
The film Glory is a perfect example of approach #1
This may have to do with the modern cynicism towards war but I think it has a different purpose. As we have seen in the mental trauma many US soldiers have faced since coming back from the Middle East, there can be an argument made that war leaves a deeper toll on people than we previously thought for the past 3,000 years.
Waltz With Bashir explores this trauma beautifully and painfully.
The film focuses on the wartime experience of its director Ari Folman during his service in the Lebanese Civil War. The focus of the film is Folman’s inability to adequately remember what exactly happened to him during his time in service. This realization is prompted by his friend Boaz who tells Folman of nightmares he has recently had involving 26 wild dogs chasing him. That’s because during the war he was ordered to kill exactly 26 dogs in a small Lebanese village to prevent them from barking and giving away Israeli army positions. It is from this simple dream that Folman goes on a journey to discover just what it is blocking his memories from him.
As he reaches closer and closer to the truth he begins to wonder if what he forgot about the war is best left forgotten. But like Oedipus Rex he seeks forward in his search for the truth even if it means his own destruction in the process. And then the truth is revealed.
One of the most interesting aspects of Waltz With Bashir is the fact the film is entirely animated. Even though the voices and interviews we hear are real the images we see on screen are carefully animated caricatures of people. Though the animation is very photo-realistic it is used to great effect to show the unforeseen side of war. Soldiers flashbacks are seen in an almost dream like quality and the animation heightens the surreal aspects of the war as a whole.
Though I won’t spoil the ending I feel it is what makes Waltz With Bashir a worthy entry into one of the top 10 war films ever made. As the film centers inherently around the Israel-Palestine conflict we are constantly reminded of just how savage and fierce the conflict has been between the 2 countries. From child soldiers, numerous wars, and massacres it is no wonder Ari Folman chose animation to make this film. Real life footage would have been unbelievable.
Andrew,
I really enjoyed reading this. This actually seems like the kind of movie I would enjoy watching, so I might look into it. I appreciate that you chose an unconventional movie, something that not everyone would have heard of, but still referenced popular movies that many people have heard of to get your point across. My only suggestion to improve this article is to broaden your word choice, and even that was only restricted to very specific phrases where I felt that a better word could have been chosen. Overall, this was a very good read that I enjoyed.