The uncanny and redemption in Waltz with Bashir

Guillem Gonzlez Noguer Contemporary Jewish Cinema through Philosophy Professor Maciej Stroi s!i

Waltz with Bashir is a mo"ie with a "ery sophisticated style# it is a documentary created using an animation techni$ue that mi%es reality with fiction& and one cannot forget its self'referential and meta'fictional procedures# not only the main character is the mo"ie director himself( )ut he also shows the process of creation* The comple%ity of the mo"ie+s aesthetics coincides with the large amount of su)jects that it deals with# war and ,e)anon war( memory and the way it functions( psychoanalysis( guiltiness( the art of ma!ing mo"ies itself*** -n this essay( we are going to analyze the mo"ie through two concepts# the uncanny and the redemption* -n the first section( we will try to understand which role uncanniness plays in the mo"ie & if any* -n the second( we will tal! a)out the redemption* .inally( we will try to show how the mo"ie seems to lin! and e"en reconcile these two apparently di"orced worlds( psychoanalysis and Judaism* 1. What about the uncanny? .reud+s concept of the uncanny( the /nglish translation of Unheimlich( is generally used to analyze gothic or fantasy no"els( and .reud summarizes its semantic richness as follows# 0the uncanny is that class of the frightening which leads )ac! to what is !nown of old and long familiar1 2.reud34* 5ut( as we ha"e just descri)ed( Waltz with Bashir is not a mo"ie that one would call fantastic or gothic &nor e"en frightening& at all* Then( is it really useful to use this term to analyze the mo"ie6 7es( it is( )ut one should follow .reud+s deconstruction of its meaning to find the most suita)le one for our interpretation* Through his re"ision of the etymology of the Heimlich( .reud reaches a couple of interesting conclusions* .irst( that the word has some sort of am)i"alent meaning# 0on the one hand it means what is familiar and agreea)le( and( on the other( what is concealed and !ept out of sight1 2.reud3* .ollowing the second definition of the word( he also adds that it might mean 0that which is o)scure( inaccessi)le to !nowledge1 2Ibid3* 5oth Heimlich and Unheimlich seem to )e related to familiarity and unfamiliarity at the same time* The second interesting thing that he finds out a)out the Unheimlich is

8ll .reud+s $uotes )elong to the online "ersion of his wor! 0The 9ncanny1( which was consulted in the

following we)site# http#::www'rohan*sdsu*edu:;amtower:uncanny*html* .rom now on( $uotations with 2.reud3 will refer to this page*

its relation with the past( precisely its origin in the childhood <# 0an uncanny e%perience occurs either when infantile comple%es which ha"e )een repressed are once more re"i"ed )y some impression( or when primiti"e )eliefs which ha"e )een surmounted seem once more to )e confirmed1 2Ibid3* 5ut( now( let us come )ac! to Waltz with Bashir# where does( in the mo"ie( the uncanny turn up6 8fter the first scene 2the dream3( 8li .orman+s con"ersation with his friend re"eals him an uncomforta)le fact# he does not recall anything from his days in ,e)anon =ar* 5ut the two scenes that follow &seeing his friend standing on )eachfront( first( and then himself in a similar position& end up awa!ing something )igger inside 8li# he seems to remem)er something( may)e a scene from the past# him and two other young men( all of them na!ed( somehow wa!e up in the water( during a starry night lighted up )y flares( get dressed in the )each and then wal! towards the city( crowded of women in mourning* The first uncanny situation of the mo"ie > is 8li facing that he does not recall anything from the war( not e"en a)out Sa)ra and Shatila massacre* The "iewer immediately !nows that something horri)le related to his war e%perience must ha"e )loc!ed his memories of these days? .reud may)e would say that this is some !ind of screen memory@* 5ut what really adds to the situation its mysterious( uncanny feeling is the fact that he had not noticed this "oid for so many years? in other words( it is( first( uncanny )ecause it is o)scure( inaccessi)le to 8li+s !nowledge( )ut( second( )ecause it remained concealed for so long* Pro)a)ly tal!ing with 5oaz Aein'5us!ila( his friend & who did not dream a)out the dogs until two and a half years )efore the con"ersation( and who did not tell 8li until that moment&( functioned li!e a mirror or a symmetrical e%perience# 8li does not see 5oaz and his war trauma )ut himself and his suddenly appeared pro)lem* Bis friend on the )eachfront and he himself on the )eachfront would
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=hen tal!ing a)out the dou)le and Ctto Aan!+s ideas a)out it( .reud also lin!s the feeling of the

uncanny with some !ind of return to a primiti"e( magical state & in which the human )eing would still ha"e )eliefs that science or common sense seemed to ha"e discredited*
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The mo"ie+s spectacular starting scene( in which we do not !now if we are facing a science'fiction or a

horror or a fantasy mo"ie( nor if the dogs are just mad dogs or zom)ie dogs( is also uncanny* 5ut its true nature is soon re"ealed*
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8 screen memory denotes 0the fact that the consciously recalled insignificant details of childhood often

stand for emotionally significant e%periences that ha"e undergone repression* Such memories are almost in"aria)ly "isual( and one sees oneself in them1 28!htar( Salman* <DDE* Comprehensive Dictionary of Psychoanalysis( Farnac 5oo!s( page <G@3* 8s the last scenes of the mo"ie re"eal( this memory is not only a creation( )ut it is also connected with 8ri+s childhood and his condition of second generation Bolocaust sur"i"or*

ha"e the same effect# the dou)le repetition of a past e"ent finally un"eils a hidden 2although created3 memory* This re"elation starts 8li+s $uest and it is the real starting point for the mo"ie+s action? as another of his friends( Cri Si"an( will put it later( this "ision is li!e a sign from his )rain to let him !now that he is( at last( ready to remem)er# 0=e don+t go to places where we really don+t want to* 8 human mechanism pre"ents us from entering dar! places* Memory ta!es us where we need to go1G* The uncanny moments that neither 8li nor the "iewers understand function as calls that ha"e to )e answered or followed# 8li starts his in"estigation only after them( and the "iewers also e%perience the same attraction )ecause they feel connected with 8li 2they !now so few things a)out his past as 8li does3* These 0calls that ha"e to )e answered1 could also )e called( in a more psychoanalytical language( symptoms* =hen he carries out his first "isit to one of his old friends( Carmi Cna+an( he manages to ha"e his memories )ac! & )ut( just li!e Carmi H( he remem)ers e"erything e%cept the Sa)ra and Shatila massacre* So( after this second meeting( 8li+s goals ha"e )een set# on one hand( he must find out what happened and which his role on Sa)ra and Shatila massacre was( and( on the other hand( he has to figure out what does his repeating dream or image has to do with the massacre* Bis need to find out the truth )ecomes an o)session( as Carmi puts it during his second "isit? this "ital need to light up what he does not recall is the attraction power of the uncanny( which de"elops some !ind of an%iety inside him* 5ut( unli!e him( the other soldiers who e%perienced the same do not ha"e this insane need to !now the truth & why6 Cnly listening to some)ody who really witnessed the massacre could ma!e the difference and re"eal the truth# this is( that his interest in the massacre de"eloped long )efore it happened( as his friend Cri says? in fact( it was connected with his most remote past# his parents were in 8uschwitz* Bis relationship of guilt with the Sa)ra and Shatila camps was different than the others+ )ecause it was actually a connection with his parents+ concentration camps? thus( the guilt he felt was also towards his parents( so ta!ing part in the massacre of Palestinians would ha"e also meant ha"ing slaughtered his parents* ,uc!ily( he finds out the truth# he was another witness to the massacre( )ut he did not participate in it( and his dream was just his creation 2the flares that fall on 5eirut+s night on his dream are pro)a)ly the same ones that he fired to help the ,e)anese Phalangists carry out the Palestinian massacre? the
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8ll the $uotes without any reference will )elong to the mo"ie* -f( )efore( he saw himself in 5oaz 2the way his )rain had hidden his memories3( now he recognises

himself in Carmi+s memory*

)each on his dream is( may)e( the same )each where him and his friend stood and loo!ed at the sea? and the women in mourning are the women he had seen lea"ing Sa)ra and Shatila refugee camp3* Fnowing the truth finally cancels the uncanniness+ effect( )ut this formulates another tric!y $uestion# were him and the -sraeli a)solutely innocent & or how guilty they were6 2. Looking for the redemption The "er) to redeem has different meanings in /nglish( some of them somehow related to the Jewish concept of redemption & for e%ample I( 0to get something )ac!1( 0to ma!e something or someone seem less )ad1 2or to impro"e3( 0to carry out a promise or pay )ac! a de)t1 2or to satisfy3 or 0to free people from sin1 2or the Christian "ersion of redemption3* 9nli!e Christian redemption( Jewish redemption is connected with the /%odus# it refers to the e%ile( not to sin & it in"ol"es getting something )ac! 2the Promised ,and3( impro"ing a situation 2e%ile3 and !eeping a promise 2)oth God and the Jews3* 8nother su)stantial difference is that it concerns the whole community( not just the indi"idual# when God gi"es Moses the Ten Commandments( or when Be assures the Promised ,and to 8)raham( the co"enants affect not only Moses or 8)raham )ut the rest of the Jews and their descendants* Therefore( the actions of e"ery single community mem)er matter# no one will )e redeemed if e"ery)ody is not redeemed* .inally( one cannot forget that( if Christianity considers redemption to forgi"e the sins( Jewish redemption demands the a"oidance of sin 2this is( to follow the Ten Commandments3 in order to achie"e redemption & sin is not just a Christian concept# it just plays a different role in each religion* -n Waltz with Bashir( 8li .olman carries out a journey( his own /%odus* The /%odus+ idea entails escaping from capti"ity and see!ing its opposite# freedom( peace( calm & this is precisely what 8li is loo!ing for* 5ut his journey has a dou)le nature# first( it is a physical( geographic trip( "isiting other places and meeting with different people( and( second( it is also a mental and a moral journey( a journey to his past and its attempt to reconstruct it and( at the same time( to forgi"e himself* Ba"ing )ac! his memories &one of the meanings of redeeming was 0to get something )ac!1& is his redemption# the forgotten memories and the truth are 8li+s Promised ,and* 8nd( li!e
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8ll the definitions )elong to the Cambridge Dictionaries Online( precisely the 5ritish one#

http#::dictionary*cam)ridge*org*

Moses and the Jews( 8ri is not alone in his journey# on one hand( he is meeting his former comrades( and thus he shares his trip with them( forcing them to face again their pasts 2this is( as we will see in a moment( their sins3* Cn the other hand( the "iewer should understand 8ri as a metaphorical country of -srael? therefore( each -sraeli should( through the mo"ie( remem)er his past and his country+s* 8li+s Journey functions li!e a memory trigger( )oth for his comrades and the spectatorJ* 5ut the un"eiled truth 2the past3( represented with the last scene+s real life( documentary'li!e images 2the women in mourning that first appeared in 8li+s dream3( is not peaceful nor redeemer at all* 8s we said at the end of the pre"ious section( ha"ing witnessed a crime and not ha"ing inter"ened cannot )e considered a)solutely innocent & e"en from the -sraeli soldiers+ standpoint( those who just followed orders( we could say that it is some !ind of a trou)lesome innocence* The "iewer( also confronted finally with the real images( senses the same conflict too# can we consider 8li and his partners( not to mention the -sraeli go"ernment( a)solutely guilt'free6 The answer is easy when we just consider -sraeli go"ernment( )ut it is difficult to decide whether to condemn or not the soldiers* .ollowing the ewish !ncyclopaedia+s entrance for sin( there is not a single unpardona)le sin )ut its repetition# 0Aepetition of the same sin may )e forgi"en once( twice( or e"en thrice( )ut not a fourth time# K.or three transgressions of Moa) Lwill forgi"eM( and for four( - will not turn away the punishment thereof+1 28mos ii( 43 E* The mo"ie can )e understood( thus( as a reminder for the -sraeli community# that is what we should not do again* -f we remem)er some )i)lical e%amples of sins( li!e the .lood( Sodom and Gomorrah or the 5a)el tower( we see that God really punishes them? may)e the personal( mental pro)lems that 8li and other soldiers ha"e to face after a conflict &war traumas( this is( some sort of distancing from the Promised ,and& can )e understood as God+s way of punishing their more or less small sins* 3. Psychoanalysis meets Judaism: the symptom and the re elation -n the first section( we were tal!ing a)out the function of the uncanny as a sign or a symptom# we meant that 8li+s )ody sent him an alert or a message with the instructions that he had to follow in order to heal* 8t the same time( we used the word revelation &
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The interpretation of the mo"ie as ha"ing a redeeming or healing function is supported )y one of the http#::www*jewishencyclopedia*com:articles:4>IH4'sin*

mo"ie+s characters( when he as!s 8li# 0can+t films )e therapeutic61

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not accidentally* .ranz Aosenzweig( in "he #tar of $edemption( esta)lishes the lin! )etween redemption and re"elation#
"he $evelation from %od to man is therefore the ass&rance given to the world for its $edemption( the foundation upon which rests the certainty that the world one day will see the dou)t remo"ed & and all dou)t is dou)t )etween trust in the Creation and waiting for the act( and the world li"es from the conflict of this dou)t* .or the world( Ae"elation is the guarantee of its entry into eternity4D*

This means that the re"elation contains the instructions that one 2man!ind( the Jewish community3 has to follow in order to achie"e redemption* 8li recei"es his re"elation in the first scenes# he does not ha"e memories from the war and( what is more( this strange image from the )each has suddenly appeared in his head? the instructions are simple# he has to remem)er and understand the image* So( after he follows the instructions( the redemption finally comes# he gets to !now the truth( this is( his past and the causes of its "anishing and the an%iety that it produced on him* 8lthough sometimes he is afraid of what he can disco"er 2he says to his friend# 0-sn+t that dangerous6 May)e -+ll disco"er things - don+t want to !now a)out myself13( his faith is restored tal!ing with his friend & also a )elie"er can dou)t and lose his faith* Therefore( we could consider God the doctor and man!ind his patient & following his ,aw is the therapy* C)"iously( the method differs# for e%ample( psychoanalysis has a pseudo'scientific )asis and spea!ing is its most important tool* Ne"ertheless( one needs to )elie"e in it if wants to get healed* Waltz with Bashir shows that Judaism and Psychoanalysis ha"e more contact points than just .reud+s origins# )oth deal with human pro)lems and )oth offer a way to sol"e them*

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.ranz Aosenzweig* 4E<4* "he #tar of $edemption* 9ni"ersity of =isconsin Pres( <DDG* =e added the

italics*