Ari Folman, David Polonsky,2009.Waltz with Bashir.Israeli
Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary about the war and humanity of the brutal Second World War. The director interweaves layers of animation and authentic images to render the film’s poignant yet moving emotional tone. With the technical support of joint exploration and year-on-year updates, emerging digital media technology and the combination of animation and authentic images add many bright moments to the film, making the characters more complex and bringing the entire story circle to the audience, achieving the most basic principles. The freedom of animation and the flexibility of expression and production adds to the artistic aesthetic of the documentary. And what Nichols, B. says in his book about film and television assumes the destiny of understanding contemporary and old works in the history of society. At the same time, animated documentaries face many controversies. I think the most critical factor is whether to respect authenticity based on objective facts and the creation of animated language.
According to Honess Roes’ ‘Taxonomy for the documentary,’ people will question the disadvantages of animated documentaries, such as the fact that live-action films are much faster and cheaper. But I would counter with two points; the production process of animation avoids the extra expense of renting filming equipment and issuing crew props for documentaries. If one were to make a documentary about war, using a ‘secondary live action’ method of filming to recreate historical war footage to make up for the shortcomings of a historical film would necessarily involve expensive explosives and guns, which would be costly and dangerous. The use of ‘re-enactment’ in the documentary ‘Battle of Britain,’ about the Battle of Britain and Germany in World War II, was far more expensive than the pay-off due to the high upfront investment. Director spent more money on magazines and gunpowder than on the actual war in history. In contrast, the animated documentary on the same subject, Waltzing with Bushehr, cost just over a million dollars.
In documentary filming, unpredictable weather conditions, equipment, and costume factors often do not compromise the production process. On the other hand, the animated documentary saves money and reduces the flow of existing resources, speeding up the filming and production process and facilitating the creation of images.
I found that most of the articles focused on whether animated documentaries could convey the essential character of the film in a new form of presentation. However, we often overlook the many social factors. For example, in a documentary film, without authentic historical footage, the filmmakers have recreated history and consulted many sources. However, the viewer questions the authenticity of the images when secondary re-enactments are used. In a highly abstract experimental animation, however, many viewers can glimpse the creator’s experience and creative philosophy through the many different forms of representation. In the case of an animated documentary, if only some animated elements are used, should the film be discussed under the concept of a documentary?
Formal Elements; the narrative character of an animated documentary.In the first half of the film, when I saw the soldiers shooting a young boy to death, it was clear to me that this was no longer the cruelty of war but the unleashing of human nature and selfishness. As the soldiers enter the forest before they can see the boy’s face, the film switches between a group of soldiers and the skinny boy, with the editing tugging at the heartstrings and making you feel the tension of the protagonist.
The mission details are also fascinating, with the soldiers’ neatly tailored uniforms and rifles and the boy’s tattered clothes and old gun barrel. A few brief details convey a great deal of information about the film to the audience in a short period. The worldview is effectively and meticulously described and embellished. The film Waltz with Bashir is repeatedly interspersed with repeated depictions of the suffering caused by the war and the beauty of the memories.