I would say that the animation in Waltz with Bashir does not prevent it from being a documentary film. Plenty of documentaries, particularly targeting children, are entirely made up of animation. On the other hand the way in which animation is used in this film does bring to question its status as a documentary. It shows Ari Folman's imagination as well as the reality of the events around him. So the animation itself is no issue, but rather the use of animation to portray fantastical imaginations does reduce the accuracy with which Waltz with Bashir can be called a documentary.
The use of the animation has value for the same reason that the movie might not truly be a documentary. Animation allowed for Ari Folman to portray events within his own head. Additionally it allowed for him to portray events for which in all probability there is no archived footage.
To surmise my response to both questions; the use of animation allows for Folman to further explore his interpretation of events rather than the facts of the events themselves, and this focus on his own interpretation calls into question Waltz with Bashir's status as a documentary.
I don't think that it's fair to say that reality can be limited to the events that happen outside the human mind. As we see in this documentary, reality can be very difficult to determine. I think that this documentary is trying to make the point that the "reality" that we know is not the only possible level of reality
ReplyDeleteOliver, explore the issue before you take a stance (or take a stance but explore the issue) so you have a post that doesn't beg obvious questions (such as Maeve's).
ReplyDeleteIf a documentary has as it's root "document" then isn't animation problematic? The fight on the street we see at the end is rendered in graphic detail but who is doing the rendering? Sure it is based on Ari's and his comrade's accounts but it's highly likely that what we see is not what happened but more of scenario "inspired by true events"? What is your working definition of a documentary?