Waltz with Bashir, graphic novel review
Waltz with Bashir
Written by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky
Metropolitan Books, 2009. 128 pages.
Global opinion towards Israel reached its nadir in 1982, when the country invaded Lebanon and stormed through Beirut on a questionable pretext. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers were killed along with thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians, mainly civilians. Israel’s ostensible aim was to purge the region of an increasingly belligerent Palestinian Liberation Organization. But it soon emerged that several hundred Palestinians were brutally massacred at Sabra and Shatila by Lebanese Christians — while Israel looked on. The Defense Minister in charge was no less than Ariel Sharon.
Waltz with Bashir revisits this troubling episode through the eyes of a former soldier. Part memoir, part creative masterwork, the graphic novel depicts Ari Folman’s difficult attempt to recreate his own role in the conflict.
Folman was present at the massacre, but his memory of it mysteriously vanished. The story unfolds as he speaks with former members of his regiment, patching together the disjointed fragments of his military service. He quickly discovers that he was not the only one to have repressed memories of the incursion into Lebanon. Each encounter draws Folman closer to the disturbing realization that he may have been involved in the massacre — and he may have even been a perpetrator.
