If you're expecting the standard action anime think again. Starting with the pack of snarling rampaging dogs that opens the action, this is one of the most powerful films I've seen, quite shocking, and the technical switch to real news footage at the end brought me as close as I've ever been to throwing up in a movie theatre. You'll see what I mean. The surrealistic power of animation is fully exploited in the dream sequences and flashbacks of this story which at one level is a psychological exploration of traumatic memory. But the film goes far beyond the personal and delves into a particularly nasty few days of the Israeli occupation of Beirut in 1982 involving an unholy collusion with, as I said, gut-wrenching results for humanity.

Will this win further enemies for Israel as one of the reviewers said? I hope not, and the courage of the film's official Israeli backers is appreciated. What the film shows is that we all, Nazi and Jew, Muslim and Christian, smart and stupid, are capable of some pretty inhuman behaviour if we allow ourselves.

This film exists on several levels. It is partly a film about combat trauma, memory and repression, partly about the specifics of Israel's role in the Lebanese civil war, and partly about war in general as experienced by soldiers. It was cleverly constructed, moving back and forth from the middle-aged protagonist and his search for his lost memories via contacting old comrades, and the depiction of the actual events during the time of his and their youth. The film is mostly done in animation and uses animation in a very effective way.

I do not believe it is at all relevant what someone's political opinions are in terms of appreciating this film. The film reveals truth through taking the viewer on a journey to the past through the memories of people who witnessed the worst days of the conflict.