Waltz with Bashir

Israeli director Ari Folman embarks on a gripping psychological journey into his own repressed memories—and the horrors of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—in this surreal animated documentary. The title refers to Bashir Gemayel, the Christian Phalangist leader whose 1982 assassination led to a full-scale Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the notorious massacre of Palestinian refugees by Phalangist forces at the Sabra and Shatila camps as Israeli soldiers stood guard at the perimeter. Former Israeli soldier Folman suppressed recollections of the campaign, but after witnessing snatches of his past in dreams and flashes (including one hallucinatory episode in which a soldier literally seemed to dance in the street while firing an automatic weapon at a sniper), he struggles to recreate his experiences through conversations with fellow soldiers and a psychiatrist. The film's animation (which resembles rotoscoping to some extent) creates an austere but mesmerizing beauty that effectively captures a trip into the unconscious. And when Folman abruptly switches to brief live-action footage of the massacre's aftermath, the effect is overwhelming. A powerful personal and political film, Waltz with Bashir delivers both a hefty emotional wallop and a potent anti-war message. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Ari Folman, 17 minutes of “Building the Scenes: Animatics” sequences, a 12-minute “Surreal Soldiers” making-of featurette, a Q&A with Folman (9 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a powerful animated documentary.] (F. Swietek)