Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1651. Waltz With Bashir (2008)

    1651. Waltz With Bashir (2008)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on February 9, 2017 2008, 6 - 7.9, 90-99 mins, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Feb 17, Israel, Movies Of 2017, Review
    7.6 Impressive
    • Directing 7.9
    • Content 7.3
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag

    Director: Ari Folman

    Running Time: 90 mins


    Waltz With Bashir (ואלס עם באשיר) is an Israeli documentary about a former soldier who interviews fellow veterans as he attempts to reconstruct his memories of the 1982 Lebanon War.

    This is a very interesting film. Not only does it look at a part of history that we don’t often see on the big screen, but it goes about doing so in an innovative and largely effective way, making for a memorable and engrossing watch.

    Let’s start off with what really makes this film so unique: the animation. Does a drama about the War in Lebanon need to be animated? Not particularly. However, there’s something impressively powerful about the use of animation instead of live-action in this film.

    Mainly, the style of the animation is very dark, but it produces a powerfully eerie effect, heightening your sense of unease towards the nature of the soldiers’ actions in the war, one of the film’s main messages.

    However, what’s even more impressive about the decision to use animation here is that it makes the core of the film’s main character and story even more understandable, and as such more affecting.

    As we follow a former soldier retrace his forgotten steps during the war, we come to realise the concept of emotional detachment from the reality and horror of conflict. Through animation, we get that same sense of being detached one step further from the real world, thus giving the main character’s plight a more relatable and powerful edge.

    So, it’s clear that this is a very well-thought out film, but it’s not just the animation that makes it so innovative.

    Throughout, the film seems to drift incredibly fluidly between the structure of a narrative drama and that of a documentary. As a result, there’s the strong emotional power of the film’s most dramatic moments, however the documentary style (which usually crops up when we see Bashir asking others questions about his past) strengthens the idea that we’re not just watching a historical drama, rather a film that’s about personal guilt and confusion when it comes to understanding war, which I thought was fascinating to see.

    This is undoubtedly a very good film, however if I were to have one issue with it, it’s that the opening act isn’t always as grabbing as I felt it should be. Partly due to the early challenge of understanding the film’s unique structure, as well as because of the very slow, almost meditative pacing, it took me a little while longer to fully get into this film than I would have liked.

    Overall, however, Waltz With Bashir is a very interesting, affecting and unique film experience. Its innovative structure and striking use of animation make for a very impressive watch, even though it takes a little while to really get going, so that’s why I’m giving this a 7.6.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.2
    Review
    October 7, 20210

    3504. Inside Job (2010)

    8.0
    Review
    April 30, 20210

    3332. The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

    8.5
    Review
    August 12, 20140

    654. Good Will Hunting (1997)

    8.1
    Review
    October 13, 20210

    3511. Belfast (2021)

    8.3
    Review
    March 30, 20180

    2101. Ready Player One (2018)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.