Waltz with Bashir was the movie that blew me away. Waltz with Bashir is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. The film was conceived as a journey in search of Folman's lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War. Folman designed the film as an anti-war message (source: Wikipedia).
The movie is about the life of a young soldier Ari Folman of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces), who after participating in the Lebanese War in 1982 as a 19 year old is trying to recover the memories of what happened after 24 years and the effect that has had on him and on his colleagues from the war.
The opening shot of the movie shows the dream of a soldier, where a bunch of 26 (yes exactly 26) dogs running around the town and waiting for the soldier to come down from his apartment so that they can kill him. The soldier meet his colleague (Ari Folman) in the bar that night to discuss his nightmares and tells him that, while at the army he was not able to kill a human and thus was entrusted the responsibility of killing the dogs in the outskirts of a small village near Beirut (which waked the terrorists by barking, whenever the IDF personal came near).
Folman realizes that he does not remember a thing from that period, and wants to know why he has only a vague memory of the night. (The night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre). The only thing he remembers from that night is that he and his soldier friends are bathing at night by the seaside in Beirut under the light of flares descending over the city.
In order to relive his memories Folman, visits his friends from the war and starts talking to them in order to understand what really happened. At this point in the movie, we are taken through the lives of various soldier friends of Folman and how the war is viewed through their eyes. It also gives us the clearer picture of the events that unfolded to Folman. Each story talks about the experiences of the soldiers and what they remember the most. While one story talks about a soldier swimming for 3 to 4 hrs in the sea to reach the safety of his forces after an ambush, the other talks about the courage of a guy who is in the middle of crossfire, but waltzing in the middle of the road and shooting at the enemy under the banners of Bashir Gemayel (the Lebanese politician and militia commander of the Phalange party). At the end, Folman gets to know what exactly happened and why he is not ready to remember the events that happened. A physcological explanation to that is given by the current Folman’s friend who indicates that even though we are physically present at a situation, the human mind chooses to ignore or forget the memories of that situation, if it thinks what’s going on is too much for us to relive ourselves of.
It is ironical that I use the word stories here, as all the incidents are real life events, which have affected the minds of all the young soldiers of that time. Remember these are all kids who were 19 to 20 years old during the war. This is in fact highlighted in the movie by small situations. One of them is the fear that grips through the mind of soldier who is ambushed and how he crawls towards the sea rather than walk even under the dark night sky. Another fantastic scene is when a young soldier tries vainly to shoot at a coke can with a piece of rock and after 4 times he uses his gun and shoots the can. The director has described each situation perfectly, which is possible only when he has seen or gone through the situation himself. What has emerged is a wonderful movie, which on one hand condemns the Israeli forces and in general the wars around the world and on the other highlighting the innocence of the soldiers and what goes through their minds. This is also highlighted by the songs which are used through out the film. The “Good morning Lebanon” and the “I bombed Beirut” the prominent ones. Even the songs are so realistic and put to very good tunes that it is impossible to find a critic.
This movie is a very good example of the one, which gives us an insight into the world of hatred and how the violence emanating out of the hatred is hurting all of us. How does a human mind react to situations and what does it Do is also pictured perfectly in the movie. I am totally impressed with the movie and rather than the movie the inherent message behind it, a person can never be at peace if he/she kills someone else.
A colleague of mine (yes at the place where I am working now) who was with IDF and was a part of the 1982 war has promised me to share his experiences with me. He wants me to use his army name which is “Joe”. An insider’s view. I will try to share his thoughts in my next blog and hence I am purposely not writing about the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, as I am very much moved and do not want to remind myself of the massacre.
But this movie is worth every penny to watch and may be it would change our perspectives. As I am left with my own thoughts and reflections for the moment, I am hoping against hope that all the hatred comes to end immediately.
The movie is about the life of a young soldier Ari Folman of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces), who after participating in the Lebanese War in 1982 as a 19 year old is trying to recover the memories of what happened after 24 years and the effect that has had on him and on his colleagues from the war.
The opening shot of the movie shows the dream of a soldier, where a bunch of 26 (yes exactly 26) dogs running around the town and waiting for the soldier to come down from his apartment so that they can kill him. The soldier meet his colleague (Ari Folman) in the bar that night to discuss his nightmares and tells him that, while at the army he was not able to kill a human and thus was entrusted the responsibility of killing the dogs in the outskirts of a small village near Beirut (which waked the terrorists by barking, whenever the IDF personal came near).
Folman realizes that he does not remember a thing from that period, and wants to know why he has only a vague memory of the night. (The night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre). The only thing he remembers from that night is that he and his soldier friends are bathing at night by the seaside in Beirut under the light of flares descending over the city.
In order to relive his memories Folman, visits his friends from the war and starts talking to them in order to understand what really happened. At this point in the movie, we are taken through the lives of various soldier friends of Folman and how the war is viewed through their eyes. It also gives us the clearer picture of the events that unfolded to Folman. Each story talks about the experiences of the soldiers and what they remember the most. While one story talks about a soldier swimming for 3 to 4 hrs in the sea to reach the safety of his forces after an ambush, the other talks about the courage of a guy who is in the middle of crossfire, but waltzing in the middle of the road and shooting at the enemy under the banners of Bashir Gemayel (the Lebanese politician and militia commander of the Phalange party). At the end, Folman gets to know what exactly happened and why he is not ready to remember the events that happened. A physcological explanation to that is given by the current Folman’s friend who indicates that even though we are physically present at a situation, the human mind chooses to ignore or forget the memories of that situation, if it thinks what’s going on is too much for us to relive ourselves of.
It is ironical that I use the word stories here, as all the incidents are real life events, which have affected the minds of all the young soldiers of that time. Remember these are all kids who were 19 to 20 years old during the war. This is in fact highlighted in the movie by small situations. One of them is the fear that grips through the mind of soldier who is ambushed and how he crawls towards the sea rather than walk even under the dark night sky. Another fantastic scene is when a young soldier tries vainly to shoot at a coke can with a piece of rock and after 4 times he uses his gun and shoots the can. The director has described each situation perfectly, which is possible only when he has seen or gone through the situation himself. What has emerged is a wonderful movie, which on one hand condemns the Israeli forces and in general the wars around the world and on the other highlighting the innocence of the soldiers and what goes through their minds. This is also highlighted by the songs which are used through out the film. The “Good morning Lebanon” and the “I bombed Beirut” the prominent ones. Even the songs are so realistic and put to very good tunes that it is impossible to find a critic.
This movie is a very good example of the one, which gives us an insight into the world of hatred and how the violence emanating out of the hatred is hurting all of us. How does a human mind react to situations and what does it Do is also pictured perfectly in the movie. I am totally impressed with the movie and rather than the movie the inherent message behind it, a person can never be at peace if he/she kills someone else.
A colleague of mine (yes at the place where I am working now) who was with IDF and was a part of the 1982 war has promised me to share his experiences with me. He wants me to use his army name which is “Joe”. An insider’s view. I will try to share his thoughts in my next blog and hence I am purposely not writing about the massacre of Sabra and Shatila, as I am very much moved and do not want to remind myself of the massacre.
But this movie is worth every penny to watch and may be it would change our perspectives. As I am left with my own thoughts and reflections for the moment, I am hoping against hope that all the hatred comes to end immediately.
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