Some political head scratching

Well we are supposed to be on holiday for Hanuka but it is a little weird when the army suddenly attacks in Gaza and catches you on the hop.  Everyone had been arguing “Barak is demonstrating remarkable restraint” or alternatively claiming that he should  “lay into the Palestinians and show them that we are not wimps and will no longer take the endless Kassam missiles lying down”. I fluctuated giddily from one pole to the other.Because we all know that both sides are right….And then “boom’!

Was it a brilliant political spin to boost the Labour Party’s flagging image in the upcoming elections?Whatever.I find it hard to get upset anymore or even to have an opinion. Must have been here too long.I have been left wing and been disapppointed. I have been more centrist when the Lebanon war (which one,though?) was raging, and now I really don’t know what I think any more,except to quote Catweazle the wizard “Nothing works.”

Sometimes I envy the extremists who think everything is so clear cut and obvious.But I know in my heart that, to quote Edward Heath “There are no quick and easy answers”.

The Power of the Silver Screen

Just came back froma move called “Waltz with Bashir” by Ari Folman about his experiences during the First Lebanon war, and his attempts to come to terms with his inability to remember exactly what happened there, especially at Sabra and Shatilla.

The most impressive thing I felt in this movie was the power of the visual imagery ,and especially the way he uses the animation meshed in with the bits of real documentary footage. It was absolutely amazing. And in addition,he uses all kinds of different music in the soundtrack, from classical to heavy rock.It all works perfectly. The problems of combat soldiers having to deal with trauma and repressed memories have been dealt with many times in the movies, but for me this was a really hard-hitting ,gut wrenching experience, and the unease we feel when we see beautiful scenery in the midst of carnage really conjures up the feelings which young soldiers had to cope with.The dialogue is so typically Israeli too,and the gallery of comrades he presents  us with really rings true too. And then suddenly we see Ron Ben Ishai the Army Radio war correspondent, and Arik Sharon and Begin himself.It was absolutely brilliantly done!

Highly recommended,but not easy to watch in parts…