Waltz with Bashir 2008

In 2006, filmmaker Ari Folman reconnects with his old friend Boaz, who shares a haunting experience of being plagued by a recurring nightmare. In this dream, 26 furious dogs race towards his home through the streets of Tel Aviv, leaving destruction in their wake. Boaz reveals that during the 1982 Lebanon War, he was assigned the grim task of killing these dogs to prevent them from alerting villagers while his unit infiltrated a location at night, and he can still vividly recall each of the 26 dogs he put down.

Ari, who also served as an infantry soldier during the same conflict, is disturbed to realize he has no memory of his own experiences during this period. That night, he undergoes a troubling vision that presents his younger self alongside two comrades, splashing in the Mediterranean waters near Beirut, illuminated by flares dropping from above the city. Ari instinctively understands this memory relates to the Sabra and Shatila massacre, yet he lacks the context needed to piece it all together.

The following morning, Ari seeks counsel from a childhood friend who works as a therapist. This friend encourages him to connect with fellow soldiers who were present in Beirut at the time of the massacre to unravel the mystery of his forgotten past. He warns Ari that memory can be quite unreliable, hinting that the disturbing visions might not represent an exact depiction of reality, yet they are undeniably tied to significant aspects of Ari’s internal struggles.

As Ari Folman interviews friends, fellow soldiers, and a psychologist specializing in PTSD, he also consults Israeli TV reporter Ron Ben-Yishai, who documented the war in Beirut. Gradually, fragmented recollections begin to surface. Ari realizes he was positioned “in the second or third ring” of soldiers, providing support to the Israeli-allied Lebanese Christian Phalange militia as they carried out the massacre in revenge for the assassination of Bachir Gemayel. Although he only learned of their actions post-event, he concludes that the gaps in his memory serve as a defense mechanism, stemming from his profound sense of responsibility for the atrocities, akin to those who participated directly. The film culminates with a poignant moment where the vibrant animations blur into actual news footage, capturing the tragic aftermath of the massacre.