For starters, I really wish the human ability of sight originally looked like it does after it’s been rotoscoped. I am sure LSD could lend a hand in this area but unfortunately as my wife and friends well know, I am already loopy enough without it and the potential flashbacks. What this has to do with the film Chicago 10 (2007) is the fact that well, it’s wonderfully rotoscoped, a la A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Waking Life (2001). Chicago 10 is an interesting take on the documentary genre, making use of this animation technique by blending it in with archive footage and interviews, in order to portray the “closed for cameras” courtroom trial of 8 anti war protesters at the 1968 democratic national convention in Chicago.

As a young person who didn’t experience that time period, the Vietnam war and the subsequent protests against it, the film serves as a reminder of just how screwed up things can get in the United States, or in any other country for that matter. It’s a contemporarly relevant movie for the Bush era and the war in Iraq; begging oneself to ask really what happened to this generation in pertinence to almost the exact same question proposed now in 2009? When comparing the two animated/political films I’ve seen during this year’s festival, I can honestly say I took much more away from the political aspects of Chicago 10 then Waltz With Bashir (2008) most likely because it’s my country of birth, something I can relate to more firmly. I could also make a case for this fact because I can’t really sympathize with a soldier’s mentality as the focal point in Waltz, but could see myself as a protester.

Chicago 10 for me neatly fits itself in amongst two other documentaries I’ve seen recently dealing with this time period and subject material, perhaps answering a portion of the question of what went wrong with this “protest” generation, or the movement as a whole. These three films together form a very solid trio, the other two being Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) and The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg (1994), all three are recommended viewing for anyone who is a fan of documentaries or interested in this specific topic/time period.

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.