Its six years too late, but I finally watched Waltz With Bashir last night. I thought it was an incredible film, and an incredibly relevant one given the recent events happening with ISIS. Then I realized todays date, and thought recommending it would be misinterpreted as a huge political statement. But Im OK with it. Its not meant to undercut the tragedy that today represents, but it is arguably more relevant in light of it. Whenever a tragedy strikes, my news feed gets partially filled with articles casting the event as Islam vs. Christianity, a one-sided war between a barbaric religion and a peaceful one. In Waltz With Bashir, Israeli director Ari Folman (playing himself) reflects on his involvement in the 1982 Lebanon War. Particularly the Sabra and Shatila massacre (formally recognized by the U.N. as a genocide), where a Lebanese Christian militia killed between 800 to 3,000 Palestinian civillians in a refugee camp, lit by the flares of their complicit-if-not-condoning Israeli allies. Like Vonnegut and the bombing of Dresden, Folmans memory of the event can only be told in semi-fictionalized sketches, which solidify from dreamscape to reality as the movie unfolds. Its an astounding piece of filmmaking both in style and content, and a sobering reminder that every side has blood on its hands. You should watch it, then tell me again why a people group or belief system should be judged by its most violent faction. https://youtube/watch?v=ylzO9vbEpPg
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 19:44:22 +0000