Director Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir" weaves a dark tale, recalling soldiers' memories of the Lebanese - israeli War of the 80's. The end result is a tapestry of conflicting recollections, recurring flashbacks, and disturbing images that afflict the many men who took part in this conflict. Through the use of animated imagery, the film blurs the line between reality, imagination, and recalled memory.

The animated imagery is realistic without being gruesome. The memories are retold to the filmmaker through casual conversations, whether while sharing a beer or toking a shared joint. The point of view of the interviews is carefully chosen, the animation technique is effective, and the interviews are personal and honest.

Mr Folman has chosen to juxtapose his recollections against those of his fellow soldiers, often through the interpretation of his own Psychiatrist. Using the psychiatrist's theories on human recollection, we are given choices as to what "really" happened. It's explained why we suppress certain thought, while creating our own "reality" of the events we experience. And again the use of animation allows the filmmaker the opportunity to "create" this new reality.

I enjoyed the animation technique and the stories recounted, interview after interview. The sound track kept you within the element. If I had one criticism about the film, it would be the last 5 minutes of the film. The filmmaker did such a wonderful job having the first 85 minutes animated, and then suddenly there was a very hard cut into actual Newsreel footage of the war's aftermath. I think a slower transition into the newsreel footage would have made this point more effective. I realize the filmmaker was trying to explain that he has snapped back into the reality of what he's discovered and what the World already knows. I think it could have more effectively been presented by recreating image for image animation of the first part of the newsreel and then fading into the live-action newsreel. The hard cut was a bit too abrupt. Don't get me wrong, I think the film was well done, but with more careful thought about the closing, I would have left the theater a bit more satisfied.

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