NYFF: Waltz with Bashir

At least since Apocalypse Now, we've known that war can be hallucinatory, and Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman (who also wrote In Treatment) fully embraces the surreal dimension of combat, memory, and post-traumatic stress disorder. As a soldier during the first Lebanon War, Folman witnessed the Sabra and Shatila masscre, where thousands of refugees were murdered by Christian forces.

When he realizes that his memories of the event are repressed, he sets out to interview old comrades and find out what really happened. Animated in a striking combination of flash, classic, and 3D techniques, Waltz for Bashir dramatizes the horror and insanity of war in images that gracefully glide between the mundane and outrageously bizarre. [posted by Jürgen] ****

More on Waltz for Bashir: Nick Schager, Daniel Kasman, Ryland Walker Knight, filmlinc blog, and an interview with Folman at SpoutBlog. Waltz with Bashir will screen at the New York Film Festival on October 1 and 2. Related: Top Ten Anti War Films, Persepolis.