Waltz With Bashir

Review: The Israeli animated documentary, nominated for an academy award for best foreign film, is about the filmmaker's quest to regain his memories about the Lebanon war he fought in twenty years earlier. The use of animation to convey his story is genius since this film is more about memories and how people interpret events of the past than anything else. Much of the filmmaker's, and the people he interview's, memories are skewed and distorted, or blown out of proportion. Animation allows us to witness events how they remember it, or how they felt when they experienced it. The surreal, dreamlike, vignettes are in stark comparison to the brutal events that the filmmaker was fortunate enough to block from his memory. The brutal massacre which is the focal point of the film is a tragic act and leaves no wonder why anyone would want to erase the events from their memory. Waltz with Bashir is a beautiful film with an austere message about war and the nature of our memories.
Rating: 4/5

Award Consideration: Although I enjoyed the film a lot, I'm still going with Revanche in this catagory if for no other reason than to root for the underdog. Both are very good films, and Waltz with Bashir already won the Golden Globe. It would be nice for Revanche to get some recognition.