True/False Films

Waltz With Bashir

This film is fully or mostly subtitled.

In person: producer Yael Nahlieli

It's hard to imagine a film that better fits the true/false dichotomy than this Israeli hybrid, in which writer-director Ari Folman weaves together investigative journalism, personal essay and contemporary Middle Eastern history with startling, often surrealistic animated imagery. Inspired by his own repressed memories of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which he participated in as a 19-year-old foot soldier, Folman spins a mind-bending, soulful and compelling tale of war, memory, trauma and lost innocence. The story follows Folman as he revisits the invasion, which culminates with a terrifying massacre in a Lebanese refugee camp. Waltz's voiceover is grounded in fact, comprised of real interviews with Folman's buddies, as well as with politicians and historians, but the imagery is otherworldly: rabid dogs rampaging through Tel Aviv; a bosomy green sea goddess carrying a seasick soldier across troubled waters. Vivid, provocative and innovative, this example of new-form war journalism — an Oscar nominee and most honored film of 2008 — pushes the outer limits of documentary filmmaking to unforgettable effect. (JS)