Thanks for the memories!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Excellent but underrated film

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Flares illuminate the night sky over war torn Beirut as a group of Israeli soldiers emerges from the ocean after a swim. The quiet and surreal atmosphere belies and obscures a massacre taking place deeper within the shattered hulk of the city.Also affected by the distortion are the memories of some who were there. The film's director is among them. Despite his proximity to the scene, Folman remembers little of the Sabra and Shatila massacres by Christian Phalangist militiamen. The recurring dream of a friend, a pack of wild dogs rampaging through city streets, inspires Folman to revisit the past and his own role in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. By collecting memories of others, he hopes to recreate his own.Animation is the chosen medium for the recreation and it is a wise choice, for the skillful art reaches further into our psyche than talking heads, still pictures and bald facts. The story has more impact because it is a personal and honest exploration, and there is no political agenda at play. What unfolds is a dark, but fascinating, revealing and consequential glimpse into war, fear, genocide and the impact of violence on memory.The fact that memory is dynamic and alive, is among the insights provided by this remarkable film. Memory, for better or worse, often fabricates experiences and fills in gaps with things that never happened. It takes us where we need to go. We accompany Folman into the carnage, the burnt bodies and crosses carved in chests, but also into redemption and healing. These stories of darkness, fear and pain - each of us has them - must be told, for it is the only way we heal.

The first time I watched Waltz with Bashir I could not believe my eyes. I had never seen anything quite like that before. I had approached it aware that it was an animation about the endless troubles that have tormented the Middle East for decades. I learned that it actually is a documentary telling about a quite specific bit of the History of those people. A shockingly realistic documentary about memory as well. The personal memory becomes, perhaps, collective memory. So it might as well be said that the struggle of the individual trying to cast a light on the most shocking and frightening war memories of his could be read as a collective try to deal with the past of whole nations and communities in war-torn areas of the world. The whole work is a cry for peace, carried out with a very peculiar technique, an outstanding music score and scenes of unparalleled cinematic poetry. I will never grow tired of reccomending this movie to any adult.

"Waltz with Bashir" is a documentary that uses very unique devices for the genre. And I don't mean only the fact that it's an animation. Fictional movies depicting real life events are often held back by their documentary style, but this one is a documentary elevated by its strongly fictional style of storytelling that leans on its psychologically fascinating structure, artistic visual qualities and effective, often very beautiful soundtrack.The biggest accomplishment here is the fact that "Waltz with Bashir" isn't only about the historical viewpoints of the Lebanon war and the personal journey presented. It transcends that initial premise and becomes a universal, effective story about conflict, about human nature and our violence.

The psychological conflict of the war brilliantly explained I must say this animation is very similar to the story of a book. Achieve illustrate all without taste of war, human stupidity, feelings and small flashes of humanity that can go into a war.Walts with Bashir could be described as a well-narrated film without vices or propaganda.Quickly, the story grabs you and you live the torments of characters in each of the situations presented.This is a film that should be present in the election of a film lover.For me completely exceeded my expectations, so I evaluated with 10