Well I've been thinking a great deal about Waltz with Bashir and how the consequences of a fatal memory can take away a part of ourselves. So often when soldiers come back from war, whether they themselves saw action, or simply clean up after it, the emotional, mental, and psychological scars are immediately apparent. These incredibly strong men and women come back as shells of who they once were, and often with either incredibly vivid memories, or none at all. The ones who can remember everything in absolute detail have the pain of reliving hell every time they close their eyes, while the ones who have forgotten simply can't feel whole anymore. It's hard to even imagine what situation would be worse: to know what is slowly eating you away, or simply realizing that something is eating you away while you remain in the dark as to why.
From the point Ari realizes that he has in fact lost his memory, he becomes determined to get it back. However, as he travels to regain his memory, he forces others to relive the terrible things within their own memories. From Dayag's abandonment to Frenkel's waltz, Ari questions them all to find himself. While this seems like a rambled mess (and it very well could be!) I just can't myself fathom how unforgiveable a lost memory can be. Memories are what make us who we are, and they define who we will become. Seriously giving this some thought, I honestly don't know of anything in my past that was so horrible that I can either replay it out perfectly in my mind, let alone something so terrible that it would take away my memory. Then again, I've never seen war.
In the end, Ari is in fact able to regain the memory that he lost, but to what cost? Does he now live his life like those who remember every terrible detail whenever their eyes are closed? Was that the closure needed for him to truly move on with his life? How long did it take after his witness to the massacre before he blocked out that part of himself? I guess no matter what these questions are superficial to what the story was all about. Waltz with Bashir isn't just about one man reclaiming a lost memory (although that is part of the major story) so much as it's one man reclaiming a part of himself that horrendous circumstances took away.
I've included a link to an interview the Washington Post did with Ari Folman about the movie. The first few questions are the most pertinent as far as my blog (or rambling take your pic!) about his lost memory. Well ta for now! Blog later!!!!!!
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