Jun. 26, 2008|Israel | France | Germany | United States | Finland | Switzerland | Belgium | Australia|90 Min.|R
Genre: Animation;Documentary;Drama;War
Description: In 1982, Ari Folman was a 19-year-old infantry soldier in the IDF. In 2006, he meets an old friend named Boaz, who shares the nightmares he’s been having, linked to his experiences during the Lebanon War. Boaz describes a vivid dream of 26 furious dogs charging through the streets of Tel Aviv, tearing everything apart. He explains that during the war, his role was to shoot dogs to prevent them from alerting villagers during nighttime raids. The dogs in his dream symbolize those he killed, as he struggled with the moral weight of taking human lives.
Folman is shocked to realize he remembers almost nothing from that time. Later, he experiences a flashback from the night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, though the details remain unclear. In his memory, he sees himself and fellow soldiers bathing by the sea in Beirut under the glow of descending flares.
Seeking clarity, Folman consults a childhood friend who works as a therapist. The friend suggests he reconnect with others who were in Beirut during that period to piece together what happened and recover his own memories. The therapist also explains that human memory can be unreliable, and Folman’s vision might not reflect actual events. However, even if it’s a hallucination, the vision holds significant meaning for his psyche.
Cast director: Ari Folman
Cast actor: Ari Folman, Miki Leon, Ori Sivan, Yehezkel Lazarov, Ronny Dayag, Shmuel Frenkel, Zahava Solomon, Ron Ben-Yishai, Dror Harazi
Original name: Vals Im Bashir