In short, this is my film of the year. It's consistently brilliant throughout in every way I can think of, and it definitely sits among my top 10 films. I'll deal with the technical side first:
fucking brilliant.
Moving on... Nah, I kid. The artwork is gorgeous, using my favourite technique of all time; using colour to represent emotions. The washed-out yellowness at the climax of the film suited it perfectly, and the frequent use of this brings beauty to what could have been an entirely bleak film. The animation is great, although it isn't rotoscoped the animators have still been able to show emotions on the faces of all the characters.
In fact, the film is solely based on characters, rather than events. The centre of the plot is a former Israeli soldier with amnesia, pushed into searching for his past through hallucinations of a certain massacre (Sabra and Shatila) he witnessed. He does this by talking to other people who were involved in the war, and thus allows the film-makers to explore different narratives and storyline while still relating it to the protagonist of the film.
It can be bleak in parts, depressing in others and uplifting in none, but that doesn't stop it from being emotionally affecting and moving. I think an 18 rating is too high, there's only 1 scene with sex, and the worst part is the real pictures of the massacre. I'm going off-track here, but surely images of an event that actually happened shouldn't be concealed from us. Sadly genocide happens, and we can't just pretend it doesn't for the childrens' sake.
Anyway, the film wraps up nicely by showing us the reality rather than the hallucination. It's a deep film, and I recommend you see it. Definitely worth a BAFTA, hell, even an Oscar.
fucking brilliant.
Moving on... Nah, I kid. The artwork is gorgeous, using my favourite technique of all time; using colour to represent emotions. The washed-out yellowness at the climax of the film suited it perfectly, and the frequent use of this brings beauty to what could have been an entirely bleak film. The animation is great, although it isn't rotoscoped the animators have still been able to show emotions on the faces of all the characters.
In fact, the film is solely based on characters, rather than events. The centre of the plot is a former Israeli soldier with amnesia, pushed into searching for his past through hallucinations of a certain massacre (Sabra and Shatila) he witnessed. He does this by talking to other people who were involved in the war, and thus allows the film-makers to explore different narratives and storyline while still relating it to the protagonist of the film.
It can be bleak in parts, depressing in others and uplifting in none, but that doesn't stop it from being emotionally affecting and moving. I think an 18 rating is too high, there's only 1 scene with sex, and the worst part is the real pictures of the massacre. I'm going off-track here, but surely images of an event that actually happened shouldn't be concealed from us. Sadly genocide happens, and we can't just pretend it doesn't for the childrens' sake.
Anyway, the film wraps up nicely by showing us the reality rather than the hallucination. It's a deep film, and I recommend you see it. Definitely worth a BAFTA, hell, even an Oscar.
