{"id":5237,"date":"2009-03-30T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2009-03-29T23:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=5237"},"modified":"2009-03-30T00:23:57","modified_gmt":"2009-03-29T23:23:57","slug":"uk-dvd-releases-monday-30th-march-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2009\/03\/30\/uk-dvd-releases-monday-30th-march-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"UK DVD Releases: Monday 30th March 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UK<\/a><\/p>\n

DVD PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Waltz With Bashir<\/a><\/strong> (Artificial Eye): One of the most remarkable films to be released in the last year\u00a0deals with\u00a0the memory of Israeli soldiers involved in the invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s and\u00a0the\u00a01982<\/a>\u00a0Sabra and Shatila massacre<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Directed by\u00a0Ari Folman<\/a>, it examines his own experiences on that mission and the struggle to remember what happened when he interviews various army colleagues from the time.<\/p>\n

The strange title is taken from a scene with one of Folman\u2019s interviewees, who remembers taking a machine gun and dancing an \u2018insane waltz\u2019 amid enemy fire, with posters of\u00a0Bashir Gemayel<\/a>\u00a0lining the walls behind him.<\/p>\n

Gemayel<\/a>\u00a0was the Lebanese president who whose\u00a0assassination<\/a>\u00a0helped trigger the massacre.\u00a0The most unusual and startling aspect of the film is that it is animated, an unconventional approach for what is essentially a documentary.<\/p>\n

Although very different in theme and tone to\u00a0Creature Comforts<\/a>\u00a0it appears to adopt the same device in which real conversations are animated and stylised.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A hugely ambitious film, it took four years to complete and is and international co-production between\u00a0Israel<\/a>,\u00a0Germany<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Back in May it premiered to\u00a0huge acclaim<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Cannes<\/a>\u00a0and was one of the front runners to win the\u00a0Palme d\u2019Or<\/a>.\u00a0Much of that praise was richly deserved because this is an arresting and highly original film.<\/p>\n

It deserves particular credit for taking a highly politicised and contentious event and yet somehow makes a wider point about the futility of war whose relevance is not just confined to the cauldron of the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Another aspect which makes this story so intriguing is that the Israeli troops were not guilty of the massacre itself, but of standing by and letting Lebanese miltia<\/a>\u00a0murder\u00a0Palestinian<\/a>\u00a0refugees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is the memory of, or rather the inability to remember,\u00a0this event that lies at the core of the story. Has Folman unconsciously blocked out the memory? Does guilt cloud any rational perspective?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The raw power of the source material is enhanced by some extraordinary imagery, with a remarkable and inventive use of colour for certain sections, especially those involving the sea.<\/p>\n

Added to this is Folman\u2019s narration which has an almost hypnotic effect when set alongside the visuals, almost as if the audience is experiencing a dream whilst watching the film itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The film won 6\u00a0Israeli Film Academy<\/a>\u00a0awards (including Best Picture) and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.<\/p>\n

It might seem like a strange film to make about such a serious subject but it\u2019s surreal approach only makes the horrors of war seem all too real.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The DVD and Blu-ray discs include the following extras:<\/p>\n

DVD<\/strong><\/p>\n