Waltz With Bashir, 2008

The people who have seen this film rave about its beauty and power. So why didn't I particularly love it? I struggled with Waltz with Bashir because it tries to be like a shocking documentary, but due to the animation, detaches itself from the audience. We aren't thrust into the middle of the genocide or the war just observing it from a distance. Doesn't the news already do that for us? In 20 years, we can substitute Saddam with Bashir and have a visually arresting cinematic experience called "Waltz with Saddam." This movie transcends the individual story and tells a universal tale about how all soldiers struggle years after a war ends. We've witnessed it with Vietnam veterans for the last 15 years. We'll see it with Iraqi veterans soon enough, and whatever war is next. Waltz with Bashir is an unveiling of Ari's soul. We hear from comrades and friends, family members and psychiatrists in an effort to understand why Ari has no memory from that time and how he can get it back. There are enough real-life visuals to present a more vivid movie, so why is this animated? I suspect because Ari, who wrote and directed the film, felt the actual images would be too graphic for an audience and because it is all really just a memory. The final verdict: Eh. It's worth a viewing if the subject interests you or you want to admire the animation and you don’t mind reading subtitles throughout. I feel it could have packed a better punch. Four stars – mostly for ingenuity. tinyurl.com/dexubz

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