Waltz With Bashir, A Dance Class in Lucidity – Gothenburg Film Festival Day 20

It has been difficult to conceive of anything to write about Waltz With Bashir (2008), specifically concerning the content. I guess I could state that I probably have some difficulties when it comes to films that give an historical count of something. So my review of the film to a large extent will not discuss this aspect of the film, nor do I even wish to breach the political discussion or aim of the film. I leave that up to future viewers, ones more educated and interested in these arenas than myself.

What is masterfully done in Waltz With Bashir, is the animation. What specifically catches my eye is the aesthetics of the animated vision, colours used and the shadowing. Within my own photography work I see what colours and shapes I gravitate towards so it’s appreciated to see someone else’s vision as such stand out so clearly. I am sure I will be influenced by the aesthetics Waltz displays in the realm of my own work in the not too distant future.

Beyond the animation the praise that I can bestow upon the film is its lucidity of vision. It reminds me of the first time I watched the animated portions of Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) when I was very young, back when my little tiny brain could still read it directly as it was meant, as pictures of dreams. Now that I am all grown up and definitively can separate the two realities I give Waltz tremendous praise for being able to lend me this feeling of “dreaming while awake” once more. Its exploration into the realms of memory, specifically here those revolving around cataclysmic events, are displayed and presented wonderfully through this angle.

My one true gripe with the film is that its ending, for me, was perhaps far too blatant. It depends who you are, and for me what mood, but I thought directly after the film ended that the vision itself was strong enough to not rely on reality for its conclusion. In afterthought and conclusion, perhaps that could have been the point with the entire film, that the ending was meant to wake us up from the dream to the harsh reality the films subject material consisted of.