Waltz with Bashir (2008) *****

Waltz with BashirHorrifyingly honest. I do not know how viewers who have no emotional relation to the Lebanon war would react (though Waltz with Bashir did get a lot of attention and awards, including an Oscar), but for me, as someone who was in the Israeli Navy during that time, it brought up a lot of difficult memories, which correlate well with the plot of the film. What I loved about this movie, unlike many other war-related films, is that it expresses no judgment, no big statements; the film itself is the statement, and one can read it in any way that is right for that viewer. It illustrates better than most movies, the impossible situations war creates – right from the opening scene, with the dogs, and through every act of violence, including, most notably, the Katyusha boy, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre. It is not a film I plan to watch again. It’s just too difficult. But I salute the filmmaker Ari Folman for the way he tells the story.