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BY JASON BLAIR
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (VALS IM BASHIR):
Written and directed by Ari Folman. Illustrated by
David Polonsky. Music, Max Richter. Sony Pictures
Classics, 2008. 90 minutes. 44442
Y
ou won’t fi nd much dancing in
Waltz with Bashir. Nor will you
learn a great deal about Bashir
Gemayel, the president of Lebanon who
was assassinated during the 1982 war with
Israel. The real Bashir belongs to history;
Waltz with Bashir is about how memory
suppresses history when we’re exposed to
deeply traumatic events. Waltz with Bashir
is an extraordinary fi lm experience, one that,
while improved by an awareness of history,
is both deeply personal and universal in its
attempt to reconstruct the past. A highly
unusual, highly decorated fi lm, Waltz with
Bashir is an animated war documentary
about the attempt to recover lost memories
by a group of friends who were soldiers in
the 1982 war — a war that, with bottomless
irony, the Israeli government called
“Operation Peace.” Writer and director
Ari Folman, an Israeli soldier who invaded
Beruit, is particularly interested in the Sabra
and Shatila massacre, in which Israeli
soldiers allowed the slaughter of Palestinian
refugees by a Lebanese militia avenging the
death of Bashir.
Waltz with Bashir has so many aspects
to it — aspects that work successfully, even
spectacularly, together — that it’s nearly
impossible to synthesize them all. At the
outset, Ari is visited by Boaz, a friend from the
war who’s experiencing recurring nightmares.
During their meeting, Ari realizes he can’t
recall the details of his war service. His one
memory, which recurs throughout the fi lm,
becomes the most paralyzingly beautiful
scene of 2008: Ari and two friends are
bathing in the sea at night as fl ares rain down
like fi reballs over Beirut. With that image,
which may or may not be authentic, as a sort
of divining rod, Ari attempts to discover the
hidden wells of memory within him, primarily
by visiting and interviewing his old friends.
Carmi, a haunted man who remembers less
than Ari, seems to have died years ago.
Ronny is alert but plagued by survivor’s
guilt. Frenkel, their captain, is keenly aware
of the war’s details, but his focus suggests a
childlike fear of the unknown. As you watch
Ari’s memories expand with repetition, you
realize not only what you’re watching, but
why Folman chose to tell his story this way.
The fi lm’s richly animated comic-book style
approximates the elusiveness and fl uidity of
our memories, which in Waltz with Bashir
run like spilled mercury and are sometimes
as hard to follow.
Winner of the 2008 Golden Globe for
Best Foreign Language Film, Waltz with
Bashir is the only animated fi lm ever
nominated for a Best Foreign Language
Oscar. It is also, oddly, one of only two
Israeli animated features ever released,
the other being last year’s $9.99. In a year
without WALL-E, Bashir would be the best
animated fi lm of the year. In a year without
Man on Wire, it would be the year’s best
documentary. Instead, by combining these
disparate elements, it’s an entirely new
way to tell a story, making Bashir, for my
money, one of the best fi lms of this or any
other year. The fi nal scene, which I found
gratuitous, doesn’t diminish what comes
before it, which is essentially a journey to a
place in which Folman can fi nally exclaim,
“The memories are coming back.”
ew
Waltz with Bashir opens Friday, Feb. 27, at the Bijou.
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Flashback
OPENING OR RETURNING:
Academy Award-Winning Short Films: This year’s Oscar-
nominated short fi lms, both animated and live-action, in
their only local screening. The winners were “La Maison en
Petits Cubes” (animated) and “Spielzeugland” (live action),
but all the nominees should be worth watching. Live shorts:
5:15 pm and 7:10 pm March 5. Animated shorts: 9 pm March
5. Screenings continue March 6, 7, 13 & 14 (times vary). DIVA.
$6 per screening. diva.proscenia.net
Directed by Steven Spielberg: Film series continues with
Jurassic Park (Feb. 26) and fi nishes with Schindler’s List
(March 5), both of which will be preceded by a brief talk from
a UO grad student. 6 pm Thursdays, 180 PLC, UO. Free.
Ed’s Co-ed: Silent fi lm shot at the UO in 1929 tells the story
of a freshman named Ed. 2 pm Sunday, March 1, Downtown
Library. Free.
Heckler’s Night: Mock freely as the Goat screens Thunderball.
7 pm Wednesday, March 4, Wandering Goat. Free.
Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience: I think this is
pretty self-explanatory. G. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.
Milk: Gus Van Sant’s biopic about Harvey Milk (Sean Penn),
the country’s fi rst openly gay elected offi cial, is earning
glowing reviews; “Milk is a marvel,” says The New York Times,
while The Village Voice says, “Milk is so immediate that it’s
impossible to separate the movie’s moment from this one.”
With Josh Brolin, James Franco and Diego Luna. R. 128 min.
VRC Stadium 15. A CADEMY A WARDS : S EAN P ENN , B EST A CTOR ; D USTIN
L ANCE B LACK , B EST O RIGINAL S CREENPLAY . 44442 (12/11/08)
Queer Film Festival: Annual festival features a Feb. 27
double feature of Dreams Deferred: The Sakia Gunn Story,
about the hate crime that killed 15-year-old Gunn and the
lack of coverage that followed, and Ask Not, which looks
at the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; and a March 4 double
feature of La Leon, an Argentine drama about a fi sherman
who is an outsider in his small village, and Sissyboy, about
the Portland gender performance troupe of the same name.
All showings start at 7 pm, 115 Lawrence, UO. Free.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li: The classic
videogame is brought to cinematic life with Michael Clark
Duncan, Kristin Kreuk (Smallville’s Lana Lang) and, oh, hey,
Chris Klein! Who hasn’t made the best choices since Election,
you might say. PG13. VRC Stadium 15.
Swedish Film Series: Series fi nishes with Good Evening, Mr.
Wallenberg, the story of a man who moved to Budapest in
1944 to help protect Jews in the ghetto. Directed by Kjell
Grede. 90 min. 7 pm Friday, Feb. 27, 177 Lawrence, UO.
Valkyrie: Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) directs this
WWII fl ick about Claus von Stoffenberg (Tom Cruise) and
a plot to murder Adolf Hitler. With Kenneth Branagh, Bill
Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard and Terence Stamp. PG13.
Movies 12. 44211 (12/31/08)
Waltz with Bashir: Striking animated documentary follows
director Ari Folman’s attempts to uncover his memories
of participating in the 1982 Lebanon War. An unusual and
unforgettable fi lm, extremely personal, beautifully created and
with one of the year’s best soundtracks. “A movie so unusual
that it overfl ows any box in which you try to contain it,” said The
New Yorker. R. 90 min. Bijou. See review this issue.
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival: The
Cascadia Wildlands Project and the UO Outdoor Program
present a collection of outdoor fi lms, including “A River’s
Last Breath” and “Run, Rogue, Run.” 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 26,
177 Lawrence, UO. $7.
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David Lindsay-Abaire’s
Films open the Friday following EW publication date
unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.
eugeneweekly.com
2007 Pulitzer Prize Winner
February 27 - March 21
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Special Event
BENEFIT for
SPONSORS, Inc.
in memory of
Barbara Nicholls
Pay-what-you-can
Performance of Rabbit Hole
Thursday, February 26 8pm
(suggested $10 donation)
SPRING BREAK
Theatre Camps
March 23-27
Playshop for ages 8-12
Creative Drama & Acting
meets 9 -12 am
Teen Acting Intensive
meets 1- 4pm
Classes only $75
Limited Class Size - Register Early!
Registration Opens March 2
call 684-6988
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EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 26, 2009 21