Waltz with Bashir

In 2008 Ari Folman, an Israeli Filmmaker produced an animated documentary recalling Sabra and Shatila, the massacre that will never be forgotten; especially by Arabs. As in 1982, Lebanese Christian phalanges entered the Palestinian Sabra and Shatila refugee camp at night, while the Israelis were backing them and covering for them.

The massacre resulted in a horrific mass murder, women and children were killed and slaughtered to death. From that time till now, whenever Arabs remember the massacre, Israelis were the ones to be blamed and responsible.

However, Folman’s intension in writing and producing the documentary was to show the other side of the story and the Israelis views on the massacre. The documentary was a line between reality and fiction, as it begins with the main character Folman himself able to recall only one image from the massacre and ends with real harsh footages from the massacre itself.

The story revolves around Folman, who is trying to remember what really happened at the time of the massacre 24 years later. Folman starts remembering the days when he was a 19 years old serving along with the Israeli soldiers in the war with Lebanon. During the film, we follow Folman in his journey seeking out for other witnesses, who were with him at the time of the massacre. he visits his old friends and starts placing the puzzle piece by piece to form the whole Israeli image of the massacre. he, also, interviews a psychologist, first journalist to cover the massacre and other people who were in the tanks overseeing what’s happening on the camp. The ending shows real footages of Palestinian women shouting and crying seeing their children and husbands laying down in their own blood, while the Israelis walking inside the camp watching the horrific scenes of the massacre.

The documentary was like a podium for the Israelis to come out and tell their story, hoping for people to sympathize with them and change their perspective on the massacre. The documentary did not include any Lebanese or Palestine perspective as if they do not exist. The animation technique was produced in a way that mixes between present and old days, showing colored images (present 2008) and brownish old images (past 1982). The shifting between scenes was smooth and logical. The choice of music was suitable reflected the Israeli opinion and intension in Lebanon by singing “Bombed Sidon and Bombed Beirut”, we see them happy walking around the aisles of Lebanon not knowing what’s going to happen later on. The way the documentary was produced whether it was from the script or the actions all reflected the innocence of Israeli soldiers.

As a first documentary to reflect the Israeli point of view of the massacre, I would consider it a good movie which makes you question whose wright and how’s wrong and what is the truth. As Lebanon banned the documentary, people in the Arab world are raised on the idea that Israelis are our enemies. So for a better understanding, I would advise you to read the Arab Lebanese-Palestinian point of view before watching the documentary.