Waltz With Bashir: Grade B

B
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ari Folman (voices); Writer and Director Ari Folman.

This hand-drawn animated documentary is stunningly beautiful. The sets and characters are drawn with such care that it is sometimes worthwhile to stop the DVD and examine details in the background. Colors are mesmerizing. Motion animation is only perfunctory, so the feel is that of a graphic novel, not a Dreamworks project. The illustrations are there to help the documentary along, not to create a whole alternate world.

And the story is tough. It is about Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in the early 80’s, the horrors of war, and ultimately about a massacre of civilians committed by the Israelis. The main character is a soldier who allegedly does not remember what he did in the war, so he goes around interviewing his old war buddies and gradually his memory comes back. This is a neat device for telling the story and allegorically, it also reflects the psychological and emotional conflict this story presents to modern Israelis, who do not want to admit that they committed such a massacre. It is apparently a very sensitive, political topic even today, and this film presents a radical breakthrough in public discourse in that respect. An animation also lets an Israeli audience maintain some emotional distance from reality even as they learn what happened.

The story is very sympathetic to the Israeli soldiers, not necessarily justifying the killing or the war, but it is from their point of view, showing how they were just ordinary soldiers suffering the privations and confusion of being in battle, not monsters, not killing machines, not committers of war crimes. The actual massacre is only touched upon lightly at the end, as if it were too “hot” even for this movie. So I don’t think it is as brave a picture as it pretends to be, but I am not Israeli and not a historian. Politics aside, just as an appreciator of film, I’d say it is engaging, a good-looking piece of work, worth seeing.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley: Grade B

B
The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006)
Cillian Murphy. Director: Ken Loach

Irish Republicans form a ragtag gang to resist the British occupation in 1920. The camera follows Murphy as he reluctantly joins the gang when his tolerance for British brutality is exceeded. The group trains in the fields, steals guns from British barracks. Members are captured and tortured. Most escape and continue to fight until some endorse a cease-fire proposal while others reject it and are killed by the Brits. It is a one-sided story, sympathetic to the Republican cause, so even though it makes you want to learn more about the conflict, this is by no means an educational film. The acting is quite good throughout the cast, but there is no thematic development. It is just one incident after another. No ideas are presented beyond Irish: good; British: bad. The accents are difficult to decipher, but since there is no real story to follow, it doesn’t matter. The cinematography is sensuous and saturated with color. The Irish countryside is gorgeous. Music includes beautiful Celtic songs. Directing is impeccable. Costumes and sets convey genuine 1920’s. The movie is a treat for the senses, if not for the brain.

Blood Diamond: Grade C

C

Blood Diamond

Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly. Director Edward Zwick.

This movie earns a C instead of a D because the story of conflict diamonds is important and it is clearly told here. The message is pounded in with heavy handed speechifying, but I give credit for trying. Also, DiCaprio does a fine acting job, with a convincing Afrikaans accent, although he is too delicate to be fully believable as a crusty, he-man adventurer. Hounsou doesn't have many lines but is a physical actor who projects a lot of presence. I hope we see more of him. Connelly is wasted by the abyssmal dialog. (To L.D. dying, "I'm really glad I met you." L.D.: "I'm really glad I met you too."). She was so good in House of Sand and Fog, it is inexcusable to reduce her to a pretty face. The story is almost, but not quite the life-cycle of one huge raw diamond found by Hounsou in Sierra Leone. DiCaprio is a smuggler who wants to sell it to a thinly disguised DeBeers corporation. Connelly is a reporter trying to expose the blood diamond trade. Meanwhile rebels are overthrowing Sierra Leone by indiscriminate killing and recruiting of child soldiers. Corrupt generals on all sides also compete for the special diamond. Amazingly, after the second village slaughter, I became bored with slaughter. Have Hollywood editors lost all independence? I personally could have cut this movie back from 2.5 hours to 90 minutes. The African scenery is nice, but also repetitive. The violence is shocking at first, but soon I started trying to see how the special effects blood spurts were achieved. There are about 5 themes here, each worthy of a movie, but just when you think the movie is over, another theme is introduced. That's called rambling.