Waltz With Bashir
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:121
Fresh:116
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8.3/10
Consensus: A wholly innovative, original, and vital history lesson, with pioneering animation, Waltz With Bashir delivers its message about the Middle East in a mesmerizing fashion.
Rated: 18 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:21-11-2008
Synopsis: In reflecting upon his time spent in the Israeli army, filmmaker Ari Folman has produced WALTZ WITH BASHIR, a profoundly moving antiwar meditation that is equal parts personal memoir, history... [More]
Director: Ari Folman
Reviews for Waltz With Bashir
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 4/6 |
It’s messy and unusual, not always gratifying, sometimes frustrating, always compelling. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
In this animated 'leisure trip' back through an atrocity, the nightmarish hell of war assumes a new kind of reality. Devastatingly good. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The power of the film is the cartoon “shield” between the witness and the audience. It has the unsettling effect of intensifying the trauma. Full Review |
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4/5 |
An extraordinary film - a military sortie into the past in which both we and Folman are embedded like traumatised reporters. Full Review |
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5/5 |
It's a blistering, powerful work. Full Review |
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4/5 |
As calm and thoughtful a history lesson as ever needed to be taught, Waltz With Bashir is a moving picture in every sense. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The cert and name suck, but don’t let that put you off. Bashir is history without being hard graft. Immensely moving, the world may stubbornly refuse to move on, but cinema like this can nudge it in the right direction. Full Review |
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4/5 |
It's undeniably distinctive, and anyone interested in the unconventional end of animation should take a look. Full Review |
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4/5 |
It’s an inspired decision which has created a truly memorable movie. Full Review |
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An investigative war documentary done as an animated feature is a pioneering concept, powerfully realised. Full Review |
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4/5 |
A powerfully ambiguous meditation on personal and collective avoidance. Full Review |
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5/5 |
Painting each frame of Waltz With Bashir took almost four years and many doubted it could be done. But there is no question that the result is one of the most resonant films of its year from any source, and quite probably a landmark in animation. Full Review |
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5/5 |
A beautifully animated, superbly directed documentary that is both deeply moving and utterly mesmerising. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
Quite possibly the first-ever feature animated documentary, this strong story of war and memory from Israel is essential viewing for anyone interested in film. Or in the Middle East. Full Review |
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8/10 |
Unlike Body Of Lies and a thousand other fighting movies that glorify killing, this is revealing of war by merging truth and hallucination. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Waltz is a challenging film in the best sense of the word. It asks questions about the nature of memory and life during a time of war without providing any pat answers. Full Review |
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An arresting concept, yet the resulting film is skimpy, numbing, and less searching than it believes it is Full Review |
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4/5 |
Click to read the article Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
it feels like a fever dream, but moves forward with the churning internal logic and dogged persistence of a mystery-thriller Full Review |
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5/5 |
Folman's personal journey to recover/understand his own memories in the context of a great national nightmare is a unique, arresting documentary that will stick with you for a good long while. I was so glad I was able to see it. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Waltz With Bashir
June 22, 2009:
RT on DVD: Waltz with a Shopaholic Pink Panther in Wonderland
There's something for everyone this week on DVD, starting with an Oscar-nominated animated documentary (Waltz with Bashir), a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced chick flick (Confessions... More...
January 13, 2009:
Academy Names Nine Foreign Film Finalists
The Academy has narrowed its choices for this year's recipient of the Best Foreign Language Film Award, choosing its favorite nine releases from a field of 65. More...
January 08, 2009:
The Israeli Apocalypse Now blasts into movie theaters, in animation! And pulls it off to vividly surreal effect. Director Folman, a soldier and eyewitness to the 1982 Sabra and Shatila Palestinian massacres, painfully dredges up his own personal demons. 
More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
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