08/01/2009

A harsh critic of both his government and the Palestinians, Israeli director Ari Folman is in Rome to present Waltz with Bashir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. "They play at war like I play chess,” he said, commenting on the recent fighting in Gaza. "There is no sensitivity towards human suffering, towards pain, on either side of those who hold the weapons".

Folman knows of what he speaks. In February of 1982, at the age of 18, he was one of the soldiers ordered by then Minister of Defence Ariel Sharon’s army to witness, and not intervene, in the Sabra and Chatila massacre. A trauma that he overcame by making his acclaimed animated docu-drama (illustrated by David Polonsky), which is being released tomorrow in Italy by Lucky Red.

"After several analysis sessions, I realised that the moment had come to tell the story through film, the best way to finally reconcile with that young soldier from which I was disconnected for many years," said Folman. "I recounted the war in Lebanon the way that I had experienced it, from my point of view. The Israeli soldiers did not participate in the massacre, none of us fired a shot. But the government definitely knew about it.”

Co-produced by France’s Le Films d'Ici and Germany’s Razor Film, the film was backed by the Israeli government and selected as the country’s Oscar nominee. "As a former soldier, I belong to the establishment and although it is critical of the then government’s actions, the film was very well received in Israel," he added.

The film’s original score by English composer Max Richter plays a prominent role in the film. "I listened to it while writing the screenplay,” said the director. “It is a melancholy music that mixes classical with electronic. Richter composed the music for the film using a video board because he wanted the animators to have the soundtrack in their heads as they illustrated my film".

(Translated from Italian)