In 1982, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) invades southern Lebanon to remove the PLO. During their occupation of Lebanon, Bashir (or Bachir) Gemayel, the leader of the Lebanese Forces (an Israeli ally), is assassinated. Subsequently, militiamen from the Lebanese Forces were allowed by the IDF to enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, where they massacre Palestinian civilians. The title of the documentary comes from an incident where a Israeli soldier, caught in a cross fire between high rise buildings in Beirut, finds himself doing a crazy jig surrounded by giant posters of Bashir on the buildings' walls.
Ari Folman, an infantryman in the war, takes us through the events in that war from the viewpoint of ordinary Israeli soldiers that he interviews. On the ground, the war is terrifying and shocking, and Folman uses animation to recreate the experience. The use of animation is an effective technique that draws us in and makes us witness the horror and atrocities, when live footage would have caused us to turn away.
Hebrew with English subtitles.
4 out of 5 stars.
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