By Jordan Elgrably

In Israel they refer to this genre of filmmaking or reminiscing in print as "yorim uvochim," or "they shoot [first] then cry." It's sort of the Hebrew equivalent of "hindsight is 20/20."

In the last days of 2008 and into 2009, even as Israeli military forces attack Gaza in an attempt to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel, a former Israeli soldier presented his animated war documentary to audiences around the world. The Gaza attack resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths, but still the battle raged on, with Hamas forces persisting.

The Israeli animated documentary confronts old war memories: your purchase of this DVD benefits in part LCCThe IDF seems not to have learned the lesson of the 2006 Summer War with Hezbollah in Lebanon, or what former fighters from Combatants for Peace on both Israeli and Palestinian sides have concluded: that there is no military solution to the conflict. Ari Folman, who wrote, produced and directed “Waltz With Bashir,” is not a decorated combat veteran of Israel’s first war with Lebanon, but he was there in 1982 when the IDF attacked Beirut. His film, which was nominated for an Oscar, calls to mind 2008’s live action feature, “Beaufort,” in which a young, very young clutch of Israeli soldiers guard the old Crusader fort perched on a mountain in southern Lebanon, enduring mortar and missile attacks from Hezbollah, even as the majority of Israel’s population demands that the IDF end its 18-year-old occupation of southern Lebanon. In “Beaufort” there are no winners in war, only losers.

“Waltz With Bashir” may lead audiences to the same conclusion.

According to Folman's synopsis, "One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images…"

The New York Times’ critic A.O. Scott called “Waltz” “a memoir, a history lesson, a combat picture, a piece of investigative journalism and an altogether amazing film.” Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan deemed it, “Provocative, hallucinatory, incendiary…in its seamless mixing of the real and the surreal, the personal and the political, animation and live action, it's unlike any film you've seen, period.”

Scott adds that, “’Waltz With Bashir’ is not, and could not be, the definitive account of the Lebanon war or the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Instead it’s a collage and an inquiry.”

About creating “Waltz With Bashir” as an animated documentary, writer/director and producer Ari Folman says, “War is so surreal, and memory is so tricky that I thought I’d better go all along the memory journey with the help of very fine illustrators…It’s a combination of Flash animation, classic animation and 3D.”

Folman based the film on his own experiences.

“It follows what I went through from the moment I realized that there were some major parts in my life completely missing from my memory. I went through a major psychological upheaval during the four years I worked on ‘Waltz With Bashir.’ I discovered a lot of heavy stuff regarding my past and meanwhile, during those years, my wife and I brought three kids into this world. This makes you wonder, maybe I am doing all this for my sons. When they grow up and watch the film, it might help them make the right decisions, meaning not to take part in any war, whatsoever.”

“My therapy lasted as long as the production of ‘Waltz With Bashir’: four years. There was a shift from dark depression as a result of things discovered to being in euphoria over the film finally being in production with complicated animation being done by the team at a pace better than expected. If I was the type of
guy who believes in the cult of psychotherapy, I’d swear the film had done miracles to my personality. But due to previous experience, I’d say the filmmaking part was good, but the therapy aspect sucked.”

In the mid 1980s, after completing his military service, Ari Folman ventured out on his dream trip to circle the world with a backpack. Just two weeks and two countries into the trip, Ari realized traveling was not for him, so he settled into small guesthouses in Southeast Asia and wrote letters to his friends at home, letters in which he totally fabricated the perfect trip. One whole year of being in one place and writing down the fruits of his fantastical imagination convinced him to return home and study cinema.

His graduate film, “Comfortably Numb” (1991) documented Ari’s close friends taking cover on the verge of anxiety attacks during the first Gulf war while Iraqi missiles landed all over Tel Aviv. The result was comical and absurd and the film won the Israeli Academy award for Best Documentary.

Between 1991–1996, Ari directed documentary specials for TV, mainly in the occupied territories. In 1996 he wrote and directed “Saint Clara”, a feature film based on a novel by Czech author Pavel Kohout. The film won seven Israeli Academy awards, including Best Director and Best Film. “Saint Clara” opened the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama and won the People’s Choice Award. The film was screened throughout America and Europe to critical acclaim. Ari continued directing successful documentary series and took time off for his second feature in 2001. “Made in Israel” is a futuristic fantasy that centers upon the pursuit of the world’s only remaining Nazi.

Ari Folman has written for several successful Israeli TV series, including the award-winning “In Treatment” (“Be Tipul”), which was the basis for the new HBO series of the same name.