|
Vals Im Bashir Waltz with Bashir
|
| 00:03:01 |
They stand there, barking. |
| 00:03:04 |
I see their mean faces. |
| 00:03:09 |
And they tell my boss Bertold: |
| 00:03:12 |
"Give us Boaz Rein, or we'll eat |
| 00:03:17 |
26 dogs? |
| 00:03:19 |
How do you know there |
| 00:03:23 |
I'm coming to that. |
| 00:03:30 |
Well? |
| 00:03:32 |
Do you check it out? |
| 00:03:38 |
I wake up! |
| 00:03:41 |
Exactly. |
| 00:03:44 |
Since when? |
| 00:03:47 |
And you call me now, at this hour? |
| 00:03:49 |
Don't call me an asshole. |
| 00:03:54 |
This dream is coming from somewhere. |
| 00:03:56 |
I haven't told you everything. |
| 00:04:01 |
You know, in Lebanon... |
| 00:04:03 |
What about Lebanon? |
| 00:04:05 |
At the start of the war, |
| 00:04:08 |
to search for wanted Palestinians. |
| 00:04:13 |
Yeah, and? |
| 00:04:29 |
When someone enters a village, |
| 00:04:35 |
Everyone wakes up, |
| 00:04:41 |
Someone had to liquidate them. |
| 00:04:46 |
But why you? |
| 00:04:48 |
They knew I couldn't shoot a person. |
| 00:04:52 |
"Go ahead and shoot the dogs!" |
| 00:05:12 |
26 dogs, |
| 00:05:16 |
Every face, every wound, |
| 00:05:22 |
How long before they started |
| 00:05:25 |
20 years. |
| 00:05:26 |
Have you tried anything? |
| 00:05:30 |
Therapy, a psychiatrist, |
| 00:05:34 |
No, nothing. I called you. |
| 00:05:37 |
I'm just a filmmaker! |
| 00:05:38 |
Can't films be therapeutic? |
| 00:05:41 |
You've dealt with all the issues |
| 00:05:44 |
But nothing like this. |
| 00:05:47 |
No flashbacks from Lebanon? |
| 00:05:50 |
No. Not really. |
| 00:05:54 |
Are you sure? |
| 00:05:57 |
No. |
| 00:05:58 |
Beirut, Sabra and Shatila? |
| 00:06:00 |
You were only 100 yards away |
| 00:06:04 |
More like 200 or 300 yards. |
| 00:06:07 |
The truth is |
| 00:06:11 |
No flashbacks or dreams? |
| 00:06:15 |
No, no. |
| 00:06:18 |
No. |
| 00:06:24 |
You'll be okay, huh? |
| 00:06:26 |
You think so? |
| 00:06:29 |
You're sure? |
| 00:06:33 |
Sure? |
| 00:07:11 |
The meeting with Boaz |
| 00:07:15 |
That night, |
| 00:07:19 |
I had a flashback |
| 00:07:22 |
Not just Lebanon, West Beirut. |
| 00:07:27 |
but the massacre |
| 00:08:54 |
What's wrong? |
| 00:08:58 |
We all have friends |
| 00:09:04 |
Sometimes that friendship costs them. |
| 00:09:07 |
But you wouldn't |
| 00:09:11 |
My lawyer is 10 times cheaper than you! |
| 00:09:15 |
I just don't understand. |
| 00:09:17 |
Why Boaz's dream with the dogs? |
| 00:09:25 |
Why that to jog my memory? |
| 00:09:29 |
Memory is fascinating. |
| 00:09:38 |
A group of people were shown |
| 00:09:44 |
Nine were really from their childhood |
| 00:09:48 |
Their portrait was pasted |
| 00:09:58 |
Eighty percent recognized themselves... |
| 00:10:02 |
They recognized the fake photo as real! |
| 00:10:05 |
Twenty percent couldn't remember. |
| 00:10:08 |
The researchers asked them again. |
| 00:10:11 |
The second time, the others said |
| 00:10:16 |
"Such a wonderful day at the park |
| 00:10:20 |
They remembered |
| 00:10:24 |
Memory is dynamic. It's alive. |
| 00:10:27 |
If some details are missing, |
| 00:10:31 |
memory fills the holes |
| 00:10:38 |
So my vision of the massacre |
| 00:10:44 |
It never happened? |
| 00:10:49 |
I don't know. |
| 00:10:52 |
Carmi was there. |
| 00:10:57 |
And someone else I don't recognize. |
| 00:11:01 |
So go ask Carmi what he remembers. |
| 00:11:05 |
He's lived there for 20 years. |
| 00:11:08 |
Go to Holland and ask him |
| 00:11:12 |
Isn't that dangerous? |
| 00:11:13 |
Maybe I'll discover things |
| 00:11:17 |
Not at all. |
| 00:11:19 |
You'll discover important things |
| 00:11:23 |
We don't go places |
| 00:11:27 |
A human mechanism |
| 00:11:32 |
Memory takes us |
| 00:12:11 |
See all that? |
| 00:12:14 |
Yes. |
| 00:12:16 |
It's all mine. |
| 00:12:21 |
All of it? |
| 00:12:23 |
From those trees to the river. |
| 00:12:26 |
It all belongs to you? |
| 00:12:29 |
It's about 10 acres. |
| 00:12:33 |
All that just from selling falafel? |
| 00:12:37 |
Wow! |
| 00:12:44 |
How much falafel did you sell? |
| 00:12:48 |
In the early '90s |
| 00:12:52 |
Health food was in fashion. |
| 00:12:56 |
Falafel is both healthy |
| 00:13:00 |
Everyone thought you'd become |
| 00:13:05 |
Who did? |
| 00:13:06 |
I don't know, your family, |
| 00:13:11 |
They thought that by the age of 40 |
| 00:13:16 |
By 20, that future was over. |
| 00:13:19 |
Cold? |
| 00:13:21 |
Cold? I'm freezing! |
| 00:13:25 |
We have to walk all that way? |
| 00:13:29 |
It's funny you've showed up now. |
| 00:13:32 |
Why? |
| 00:13:35 |
I had just gone out with my son Thomas. |
| 00:13:40 |
He was playing with a toy gun |
| 00:13:44 |
"What did you do in the army? |
| 00:13:47 |
Did you? |
| 00:13:50 |
Let's go inside and warm up. |
| 00:13:54 |
Would you mind if I sketch |
| 00:13:58 |
No. |
| 00:14:00 |
Not at all. Draw as much as you like. |
| 00:14:04 |
I'll fetch him. |
| 00:14:05 |
It's fine as long as you draw, |
| 00:15:15 |
As strange as it sounds, |
| 00:15:21 |
on a little "Love Boat" |
| 00:15:26 |
They wanted to mislead the enemy |
| 00:15:32 |
What do you mean a "Love Boat"? |
| 00:15:37 |
All of that? |
| 00:15:43 |
I later found out it was |
| 00:15:50 |
For 18 you seemed pretty bright to me. |
| 00:15:54 |
Frankly, it was important to me |
| 00:15:58 |
I felt like everyone else |
| 00:16:02 |
and that I was the only... |
| 00:16:05 |
The only nerd good at chess and Math |
| 00:16:09 |
but with masculinity problems. |
| 00:16:14 |
that I was the best fighter |
| 00:16:17 |
Did you succeed? |
| 00:16:20 |
Yes, surprisingly enough. |
| 00:16:23 |
I felt that I was strong and capable. |
| 00:16:27 |
Then the war started and |
| 00:16:33 |
Then I... |
| 00:16:37 |
I puked like a pig! |
| 00:16:43 |
I finally collapsed on deck |
| 00:16:47 |
I sleep when I'm scared. |
| 00:16:50 |
To this day, |
| 00:17:34 |
Unconscious on the deck, |
| 00:17:38 |
dreaming a woman would come |
| 00:17:48 |
and take me for the first time, |
| 00:17:54 |
I saw my best friends |
| 00:17:59 |
Where? |
| 00:18:33 |
I woke up just before we docked. |
| 00:18:38 |
Which city? |
| 00:18:41 |
Sidon, I think. |
| 00:18:43 |
Out of pure fear and anxiety |
| 00:18:51 |
At whom? |
| 00:18:55 |
Then an old Mercedes drives up. |
| 00:18:58 |
Everyone fires at it like crazy. |
| 00:19:04 |
Two years of training, |
| 00:19:07 |
the uncontrollable fear... |
| 00:19:13 |
Then the silence. |
| 00:19:19 |
At daybreak |
| 00:19:22 |
we could see our destruction, |
| 00:19:29 |
without knowing where we were. |
| 00:19:32 |
Lying in the car... |
| 00:19:36 |
What was in the car? |
| 00:19:38 |
The bodies of a whole family. |
| 00:19:41 |
Why did you come here? |
| 00:19:43 |
Me? I... |
| 00:19:46 |
I lost my memory. |
| 00:19:48 |
In an accident? |
| 00:19:50 |
Did you have an accident? |
| 00:19:54 |
In a car or at work? |
| 00:19:57 |
No, I didn't have an accident. |
| 00:20:00 |
I just can't remember anything |
| 00:20:04 |
Just one image in my mind. |
| 00:20:10 |
Somehow you're in it. |
| 00:20:13 |
What image? |
| 00:20:50 |
Were you there too? |
| 00:20:54 |
It's hard to say. |
| 00:20:56 |
What do you mean? |
| 00:20:58 |
It's hard to say. |
| 00:21:01 |
I don't remember anything |
| 00:21:04 |
But you were in Beirut |
| 00:21:08 |
Yes, I remember being there. |
| 00:21:10 |
I'll never forget |
| 00:21:13 |
But the massacre... |
| 00:21:16 |
That's not stored in my system. |
| 00:21:19 |
Right. |
| 00:21:57 |
Then it happened in a taxi |
| 00:22:01 |
Suddenly all the memories came back. |
| 00:22:04 |
Not a hallucination |
| 00:22:07 |
The first day of the war. Barely 19, |
| 00:22:12 |
We're driving down a road. |
| 00:22:15 |
the sea on the other. |
| 00:22:21 |
at everything, until nightfall. |
| 00:22:27 |
That evening, when we stopped, |
| 00:22:31 |
"Load up the dead and wounded. |
| 00:22:34 |
Go and dump them. " |
| 00:22:37 |
- "Dump?" |
| 00:22:40 |
"Where?" |
| 00:22:42 |
"How should I know? |
| 00:22:48 |
That's where they're dumped. " |
| 00:22:57 |
So I drive all the way back. |
| 00:23:01 |
I had never seen an open wound |
| 00:23:06 |
Now I was in command of a tank |
| 00:23:08 |
full of the dead and wounded, |
| 00:23:20 |
What should we do? |
| 00:23:24 |
Shoot. |
| 00:23:26 |
How do I know? Just shoot. |
| 00:23:28 |
Isn't it better to pray? |
| 00:23:43 |
Finally we see the helicopter lights. |
| 00:23:47 |
As we get closer to the light, |
| 00:24:25 |
We unload mechanically, |
| 00:24:30 |
Then we turn around and drive off. |
| 00:24:59 |
On the first day of the war, |
| 00:25:01 |
I transported the dead and wounded |
| 00:25:05 |
from tanks on the coast road. |
| 00:25:09 |
I'm looking for people who were with me. |
| 00:25:11 |
Could your men have been among them? |
| 00:25:14 |
It sounds logical... |
| 00:25:20 |
In the western sector... |
| 00:25:22 |
Do you recognize me here? |
| 00:25:29 |
No. |
| 00:25:33 |
I don't recognize myself either. |
| 00:25:49 |
Crossing the border at Rosh Hanikra, |
| 00:25:53 |
We took photos, |
| 00:25:55 |
we told jokes... |
| 00:25:57 |
We had time to fool around |
| 00:26:03 |
Good morning, Lebanon |
| 00:26:16 |
Too much pain to carry on |
| 00:26:23 |
Good morning, Lebanon |
| 00:26:30 |
The landscape was beautiful, |
| 00:26:35 |
a few scattered houses... |
| 00:26:41 |
The slow drive allowed us |
| 00:26:44 |
May your dreams come true |
| 00:26:51 |
May your nightmares pass |
| 00:26:58 |
Your existence is a blessing, Lebanon |
| 00:27:04 |
In a tank, you always feel really safe. |
| 00:27:08 |
A tank is a very massive |
| 00:27:12 |
Inside the tank, |
| 00:27:15 |
we were protected. |
| 00:27:19 |
You are torn to pieces |
| 00:27:26 |
You bleed to death in my arms |
| 00:27:33 |
You bleed to death in my arms |
| 00:27:36 |
You are the love of my life |
| 00:27:41 |
Oh, my short, short life |
| 00:27:47 |
Tear me to pieces |
| 00:27:54 |
I'm bleeding... |
| 00:28:01 |
Suddenly our commander |
| 00:28:05 |
Was he beside you? |
| 00:28:08 |
I saw his head slumped forward. |
| 00:28:13 |
I went down inside and saw blood, |
| 00:28:18 |
The blood was coming from his neck. |
| 00:28:26 |
You were next in command? |
| 00:28:30 |
But I didn't react immediately. |
| 00:28:33 |
We just stayed in the tank |
| 00:28:41 |
Two minutes later, |
| 00:28:43 |
there was an explosion. Everyone tried |
| 00:28:51 |
without weapons or anything... |
| 00:28:55 |
Those who stayed inside, |
| 00:29:03 |
I ran as fast as I could |
| 00:29:06 |
in zigzags towards the sea. |
| 00:29:28 |
My only thought: |
| 00:29:30 |
It's over. I'm done for. |
| 00:29:34 |
They'll be here any minute. |
| 00:29:45 |
I saw the building from which they |
| 00:29:49 |
I hoped he'd get closer. |
| 00:30:20 |
I don't know why, |
| 00:30:35 |
I felt abandoned by our forces. |
| 00:30:44 |
I imagined how my mother would react. |
| 00:30:49 |
We're very close. |
| 00:30:53 |
I'm the only one |
| 00:30:59 |
Like the firstborn son. |
| 00:31:03 |
I took a peek. |
| 00:31:08 |
I wondered why |
| 00:31:11 |
they didn't notice me. |
| 00:31:14 |
I peeked a few more times, |
| 00:31:19 |
that everyone was killed in the attack. |
| 00:31:23 |
I decided to wait until dark. |
| 00:31:27 |
I had a good place to hide. |
| 00:31:38 |
I don't know why, but I decided |
| 00:31:41 |
to crawl out to the sea. |
| 00:31:48 |
I didn't want to stay close to shore, |
| 00:31:55 |
When I felt I was far out enough |
| 00:32:00 |
How was the sea? |
| 00:32:01 |
Really calm, no waves. |
| 00:32:06 |
I felt calm and at peace. |
| 00:32:24 |
I felt safe, because the sea |
| 00:32:28 |
But I was still really afraid |
| 00:32:32 |
that my strength would fail |
| 00:32:35 |
Or maybe someone might spot me |
| 00:32:50 |
While swimming through |
| 00:32:55 |
I suddenly heard a loud noise. |
| 00:32:59 |
I felt the water pulsating. |
| 00:33:01 |
I felt the turbulent water |
| 00:33:06 |
My body shook with fear. |
| 00:33:38 |
I saw lights in the distance |
| 00:33:43 |
They might be Israeli forces. |
| 00:33:46 |
I kept swimming |
| 00:33:50 |
I could barely move my limbs. |
| 00:34:03 |
Sometimes I simply |
| 00:34:16 |
I eventually reached shore |
| 00:34:19 |
I heard voices speaking Hebrew |
| 00:34:24 |
I knew |
| 00:34:27 |
that I had to get to them |
| 00:34:39 |
To my amazement, it was |
| 00:34:46 |
After I got back to my regiment, |
| 00:34:51 |
I felt like... |
| 00:34:54 |
like it was me who had |
| 00:34:58 |
I always felt |
| 00:35:05 |
like someone who didn't help |
| 00:35:09 |
As if I had fled the battlefield |
| 00:35:16 |
I sometimes felt very uneasy. |
| 00:35:18 |
I broke off contact |
| 00:35:21 |
At first I visited their graves, |
| 00:35:28 |
I wanted to forget. |
| 00:35:33 |
Visiting the graves, you felt... |
| 00:35:37 |
I felt guilty standing at their graves. |
| 00:35:41 |
As if I didn't do enough. |
| 00:35:44 |
I didn't do enough. |
| 00:35:46 |
I wasn't the hero type who carries |
| 00:35:52 |
That's not me. I'm not the type. |
| 00:36:31 |
I bombed Sidon today |
| 00:36:36 |
amid the clouds of smoke at dawn |
| 00:36:41 |
I almost went home in a coffin |
| 00:36:47 |
I bombed Sidon today |
| 00:36:54 |
One month after Ronnie Dayag |
| 00:36:57 |
the army took the beach |
| 00:37:01 |
They told us we'd soon attack Beirut |
| 00:37:06 |
But on the beach, |
| 00:37:10 |
I had a hut of banana leaves. |
| 00:37:13 |
Thinking back, |
| 00:37:15 |
the smell of Patchouli Oil |
| 00:37:22 |
It was really popular in the '80s. |
| 00:37:26 |
Patchouli was not just a fragrance, |
| 00:37:59 |
Patchouli... |
| 00:38:03 |
Show me. |
| 00:38:05 |
You sprinkle a drop on your hand, |
| 00:38:18 |
This way, |
| 00:38:19 |
your comrades always know you're there. |
| 00:38:22 |
I remember my men telling me: |
| 00:38:26 |
"Frenkel, you walk too fast. |
| 00:38:34 |
So what do you do? Patchouli! |
| 00:38:37 |
In the dark, at night... |
| 00:38:41 |
The scent is really strong, |
| 00:38:46 |
I still use it. |
| 00:38:49 |
I bombed Beirut today |
| 00:38:55 |
I bombed Beirut every day |
| 00:39:00 |
If I came close to death |
| 00:39:05 |
I bombed Beirut every day |
| 00:39:09 |
At the pull of a trigger |
| 00:39:15 |
We can send strangers |
| 00:39:20 |
Sure, we kill some innocent |
| 00:39:25 |
If I came close to death |
| 00:39:30 |
I bombed Beirut every day |
| 00:39:34 |
Our daily routine was this: |
| 00:39:38 |
Get up in the morning, |
| 00:39:40 |
prepare breakfast |
| 00:39:45 |
potted beef and eggs. |
| 00:39:48 |
On the beach. |
| 00:39:50 |
Take a quick swim, |
| 00:39:52 |
back into uniform, |
| 00:41:19 |
Someone yelled, "Frenkel!" |
| 00:41:23 |
I noticed a boy holding an RPG. |
| 00:41:26 |
A kid. |
| 00:41:40 |
Frenkel, was I there too? |
| 00:41:43 |
Sure. From training camp, |
| 00:41:48 |
Even there? |
| 00:41:51 |
Good to know. Of course I was there. |
| 00:41:55 |
Is it possible that I can't remember |
| 00:42:00 |
We call them "dissociative events". |
| 00:42:02 |
It's when a person is in a situation |
| 00:42:07 |
I was once visited by a young man, |
| 00:42:11 |
I asked him in 1983, "How did you |
| 00:42:15 |
He replied, "It was quite easy. |
| 00:42:19 |
He told himself. |
| 00:42:23 |
shooting, artillery, |
| 00:42:26 |
He looked at everything |
| 00:42:45 |
Then something happened: |
| 00:42:47 |
his 'camera' broke. |
| 00:43:02 |
He said that the situation |
| 00:43:05 |
when they arrived in the vicinity of the |
| 00:43:09 |
The Hippodrome. |
| 00:43:11 |
He saw a huge number of carcasses |
| 00:43:15 |
of slaughtered Arabian horses. |
| 00:43:19 |
"It broke my heart. " He said. |
| 00:43:24 |
to deserve such suffering?" |
| 00:43:27 |
He couldn't handle seeing |
| 00:43:31 |
He had used a mechanism |
| 00:43:34 |
as if watching the war on film |
| 00:43:37 |
This protected him. |
| 00:43:40 |
Once pulled into the events, |
| 00:43:45 |
Horror surrounded him |
| 00:43:55 |
You told me earlier that |
| 00:44:00 |
where the boy with the RPG was. |
| 00:44:03 |
Can you remember other things? |
| 00:44:06 |
chatting with friends, |
| 00:44:09 |
something that maybe reminds you |
| 00:44:14 |
Yes, in detail. |
| 00:44:17 |
I can remember perfectly |
| 00:45:08 |
I remember when I was about 10, |
| 00:45:12 |
And everything came to a halt. |
| 00:45:16 |
All children sat with their mothers |
| 00:45:20 |
behind closed blinds in the dark. |
| 00:45:23 |
Just waiting for a plane to drop a bomb |
| 00:45:29 |
No one even dreamed of going outside. |
| 00:45:32 |
When I went home from Lebanon |
| 00:45:37 |
and saw that life |
| 00:45:52 |
My goal on leave |
| 00:45:57 |
She had dumped me the night before |
| 00:46:20 |
Remember, how? |
| 00:46:24 |
Ready? |
| 00:46:31 |
Bottoms up! |
| 00:46:36 |
The memories are coming back. |
| 00:46:38 |
I met people who served with me. |
| 00:46:43 |
At which point? |
| 00:46:46 |
the siege on Beirut. |
| 00:46:49 |
You remember |
| 00:46:52 |
How do you know? |
| 00:46:57 |
Didn't you know |
| 00:47:02 |
No, I didn't know that. |
| 00:47:05 |
It's true. |
| 00:47:08 |
What's wrong? |
| 00:47:11 |
It's OK. I'm not angry. |
| 00:47:16 |
At least you had your home, |
| 00:47:19 |
What home? What family? |
| 00:47:23 |
You have no idea. |
| 00:47:25 |
My father... |
| 00:47:27 |
To comfort me, |
| 00:47:32 |
World War II... |
| 00:47:35 |
Russian soldiers in Stalingrad |
| 00:47:36 |
were given 48 hours leave |
| 00:47:49 |
They got on a train, |
| 00:47:54 |
kissed their girlfriends |
| 00:47:57 |
then had to get back on board |
| 00:48:01 |
Understand? |
| 00:48:06 |
He thought it would comfort me. |
| 00:48:11 |
After only 24 hours |
| 00:48:14 |
Back then, a new trend started: |
| 00:48:18 |
Still popular today. |
| 00:48:20 |
They're a blast! |
| 00:48:23 |
A real blast! |
| 00:48:26 |
So I arrive at this villa |
| 00:48:36 |
Everything is made of gold. |
| 00:48:39 |
Fancy sinks, marble, |
| 00:48:45 |
An officer sits in front of the TV. |
| 00:48:50 |
He keeps repeating: |
| 00:48:54 |
Fast forward. |
| 00:48:56 |
THE PLUMBER COMES 2 |
| 00:48:58 |
I'm here to check your plumbing. |
| 00:49:08 |
Have you seen my tool? |
| 00:49:18 |
Fast forward. |
| 00:49:30 |
Stop. |
| 00:49:45 |
He changes the tape and says: |
| 00:49:46 |
We received a tip-off |
| 00:49:50 |
It's coming to blow up your men. |
| 00:49:52 |
Blow it up first. |
| 00:49:55 |
Every red Mercedes? |
| 00:49:58 |
Did the Mercedes come? |
| 00:50:01 |
We waited all night |
| 00:50:06 |
for this impending disaster. |
| 00:50:45 |
Then, in the middle of the night, |
| 00:50:51 |
Bashir is dead. |
| 00:50:53 |
Which Bashir? |
| 00:50:55 |
the elected president of Lebanon. |
| 00:50:58 |
A brother, an ally, a Christian. |
| 00:51:03 |
Wake everyone up. |
| 00:51:08 |
I don't remember much |
| 00:51:11 |
except that I was having |
| 00:51:15 |
Because my girlfriend Yaeli |
| 00:51:19 |
Death would be my revenge. |
| 00:51:23 |
She would be ridden with guilt |
| 00:51:26 |
for the rest of her life. |
| 00:51:31 |
While fantasizing about my death, |
| 00:51:35 |
we approach Beirut. |
| 00:51:37 |
A city with hotels, beaches, |
| 00:51:40 |
and people scurrying about. |
| 00:51:42 |
We land at the international airport. |
| 00:51:45 |
Our Hercules army helicopter |
| 00:51:50 |
and British Airways. |
| 00:51:53 |
I was excited |
| 00:51:56 |
excited all over. |
| 00:52:06 |
At some point I simply take off |
| 00:52:09 |
and walk into the terminal. |
| 00:52:12 |
It felt as if I was on a leisure trip, |
| 00:52:16 |
a sort of hallucination. |
| 00:52:19 |
Like standing in a terminal |
| 00:52:21 |
waiting to choose my destination. |
| 00:52:24 |
Before that '80s departures board, |
| 00:52:28 |
the choice is all mine. |
| 00:52:32 |
I see the 14:10 to London, |
| 00:52:35 |
the 15:20 to Paris, |
| 00:52:37 |
the 16:00 to New York... |
| 00:52:41 |
I wander through the terminal |
| 00:52:45 |
jewellery, tobacco, |
| 00:52:48 |
alcohol... |
| 00:52:49 |
While I'm still on this trip, |
| 00:52:54 |
Through the window I see |
| 00:52:58 |
that all the TWA and Air France planes |
| 00:53:04 |
And the shops are empty, |
| 00:53:06 |
they've long since been looted. |
| 00:53:08 |
And the schedule board |
| 00:53:14 |
Then I start to hear sounds, voices. |
| 00:53:17 |
I hear shelling in the city |
| 00:53:22 |
Slowly I begin to realize where I am |
| 00:53:23 |
and I am afraid |
| 00:53:31 |
We start walking |
| 00:53:35 |
Tall high-rise hotels |
| 00:53:39 |
The sea is at our side. |
| 00:53:49 |
We walk along a promenade |
| 00:53:55 |
Then we come under sniper fire |
| 00:54:01 |
We can't see where it's coming from |
| 00:54:07 |
A wounded soldier was lying at the |
| 00:54:12 |
We were scared to death. |
| 00:54:26 |
Then, in the middle of this hell, |
| 00:54:28 |
that TV correspondent |
| 00:54:33 |
He's walking upright, |
| 00:54:39 |
Strolling along as if nothing's wrong, |
| 00:54:43 |
In front of him, a terrified cameraman |
| 00:54:48 |
Trembling with fear, |
| 00:54:53 |
It was a large junction. |
| 00:54:56 |
One lane led directly |
| 00:55:02 |
to the West Beirut district of Hamra. |
| 00:55:06 |
I remember the sizzling sound, |
| 00:55:10 |
They were firing masses of RPGs, |
| 00:55:15 |
like a Native American |
| 00:55:17 |
Before an RPG explodes, |
| 00:55:22 |
You don't hear an explosion, |
| 00:55:25 |
but just this hissing, |
| 00:55:30 |
During all this, |
| 00:55:37 |
women, children, |
| 00:55:38 |
and old people are watching |
| 00:55:55 |
They are shooting at us |
| 00:56:06 |
And we can't get across. |
| 00:56:09 |
Throughout my military service |
| 00:56:13 |
During my officer's training, I thought, |
| 00:56:16 |
"You've used a MAG for so long, |
| 00:56:20 |
So they gave me a Galil. |
| 00:56:22 |
And while they're shooting at us |
| 00:56:28 |
I realize that I can't shoot |
| 00:56:34 |
I missed the good old MAG |
| 00:56:39 |
So I say to Erez, |
| 00:56:45 |
Give me your MAG. |
| 00:56:49 |
Give me your MAG |
| 00:56:53 |
I'll shoot better. " |
| 00:56:55 |
He says, " Frenkel, are you nuts? |
| 00:56:59 |
They're attacking us! |
| 00:57:06 |
I finally realize that I must |
| 00:57:08 |
take drastic steps. |
| 00:57:12 |
"Listen, Erez, give me the MAG, |
| 00:57:42 |
Whether an eternity |
| 00:57:44 |
there was Frenkel at the junction |
| 00:57:47 |
with bullets flying past him |
| 00:57:50 |
Instead of crossing the junction, |
| 00:57:53 |
I saw him dancing, as if in a trance. |
| 00:57:58 |
He cursed the shooters. |
| 00:58:02 |
As if he wanted to show off |
| 00:58:06 |
with the posters of Bashir |
| 00:58:09 |
And Bashir's followers |
| 00:58:13 |
preparing their big revenge |
| 00:58:15 |
The Sabra and Shatila massacre. |
| 00:58:29 |
I'm starting to remember. |
| 00:58:33 |
I've met people, |
| 00:58:36 |
Stories about myself. |
| 00:58:39 |
I didn't want to believe them. |
| 00:58:42 |
So what can't you remember? |
| 00:58:45 |
The day of the massacre. |
| 00:58:51 |
I don't understand |
| 00:58:56 |
that the Phalangists |
| 00:58:59 |
I knew all along |
| 00:59:06 |
During the storming of Beirut |
| 00:59:10 |
Where? |
| 00:59:14 |
where they took the Palestinians, |
| 00:59:19 |
It was like being on an LSD trip. |
| 00:59:30 |
They carried body parts |
| 00:59:33 |
preserved in jars of formaldehyde. |
| 00:59:37 |
They had fingers, eyeballs, |
| 00:59:48 |
And always pictures of Bashir. |
| 00:59:51 |
Bashir pendants, Bashir watches, |
| 00:59:55 |
Bashir was to them |
| 01:00:01 |
A star, an idol, |
| 01:00:06 |
I think they even felt |
| 01:00:09 |
Totally erotic. |
| 01:00:12 |
Their idol was about to become king. |
| 01:00:18 |
The next day he was murdered. |
| 01:00:20 |
It was obvious they'd avenge his death |
| 01:00:25 |
It was as if their wife |
| 01:00:28 |
This was about family honor, |
| 01:00:34 |
Why did you come back? |
| 01:00:36 |
I'm still having these hallucinations |
| 01:00:42 |
And you're there with me. |
| 01:01:23 |
You're crazy. |
| 01:01:25 |
You're obsessed. |
| 01:01:27 |
Beach? What are you talking about? |
| 01:01:32 |
What beach? |
| 01:01:45 |
I've reached a dead end. |
| 01:01:48 |
I can't find anyone |
| 01:01:52 |
No one who was with me |
| 01:01:56 |
has any solid memories |
| 01:02:01 |
I only have this one vision. |
| 01:02:04 |
And Carmi, the only person in my vision, |
| 01:02:10 |
It's still real. |
| 01:02:12 |
But it's yours. Shall I explain? |
| 01:02:16 |
What does the sea symbolize in dreams? |
| 01:02:21 |
The massacre frightens you, |
| 01:02:26 |
That doesn't help me much. |
| 01:02:28 |
Your interest in the massacre developed |
| 01:02:33 |
Your interest in the massacre |
| 01:02:37 |
Your interest in those camps |
| 01:02:41 |
Were your parents in camps? |
| 01:02:43 |
Auschwitz? |
| 01:02:45 |
So the massacre has been with you |
| 01:02:50 |
You lived through the massacre |
| 01:02:54 |
Your only solution |
| 01:02:59 |
in Sabra and Shatila. |
| 01:03:02 |
Find out what really happened, |
| 01:03:05 |
Get details and more details. |
| 01:03:10 |
Then maybe you can find out |
| 01:03:15 |
and what role you played. |
| 01:03:25 |
On that day we were sent |
| 01:03:31 |
It was actually on a hill. |
| 01:03:34 |
was opposite the western sector |
| 01:03:39 |
From where I was, |
| 01:03:44 |
There was occasional shooting. |
| 01:03:47 |
and retaliate. |
| 01:03:54 |
The Christian Phalangist forces |
| 01:03:57 |
In full kit, |
| 01:04:00 |
took position behind tanks. |
| 01:04:04 |
I was called for a briefing. |
| 01:04:09 |
What was it about? |
| 01:04:13 |
would enter the camp |
| 01:04:17 |
Once they had purged the camps. |
| 01:04:21 |
we would seize control. |
| 01:04:23 |
Purged of what? |
| 01:05:15 |
The next morning, |
| 01:05:25 |
The civilians were led out of the camps |
| 01:05:30 |
in a long line. |
| 01:05:34 |
The Phalangists watched on, |
| 01:05:38 |
and occasionally firing into the air. |
| 01:05:42 |
There were women, old people, |
| 01:05:44 |
and children walking in a line |
| 01:05:50 |
From inside the tank, did you wonder |
| 01:05:56 |
Did you think about it? |
| 01:05:59 |
Not really, because wherever we went, |
| 01:06:02 |
an announcement was made |
| 01:06:06 |
Civilians were ordered out. |
| 01:06:11 |
It seemed quite natural |
| 01:06:17 |
"If you don't want to get hurt, |
| 01:06:43 |
On that day I drove to Docha, |
| 01:06:48 |
It had |
| 01:06:53 |
On the way, |
| 01:06:54 |
many Phalangist |
| 01:06:58 |
They shouted with joy |
| 01:07:04 |
At the airfield, |
| 01:07:08 |
He told me, |
| 01:07:12 |
"Have you heard |
| 01:07:15 |
He had pointed to Sabra and Shatila. |
| 01:07:18 |
"What's happening?" I asked. |
| 01:07:21 |
"I didn't witness it myself, but they |
| 01:07:27 |
Palestinians were slaughtered. |
| 01:07:34 |
I was told that crucifixes |
| 01:07:39 |
They were wounded, |
| 01:07:44 |
They were put on trucks |
| 01:07:56 |
We saw a Phalangist soldier |
| 01:08:00 |
taking an old man away. |
| 01:08:05 |
At some point we heard shots. |
| 01:08:09 |
We heard shots. |
| 01:08:12 |
Then the soldier came out alone. |
| 01:08:15 |
We asked him what happened. |
| 01:08:19 |
We couldn't hear him, |
| 01:08:26 |
We understood that he'd told the man |
| 01:08:30 |
When he refused, he shot his knees. |
| 01:08:34 |
he shot him in the stomach and head. |
| 01:08:39 |
Didn't you ever realize |
| 01:08:43 |
that trucks were going in empty |
| 01:08:48 |
women and children were brought out |
| 01:08:53 |
That maybe |
| 01:08:55 |
Did you wonder |
| 01:09:00 |
Yes, of course. |
| 01:09:03 |
I realized something was happening |
| 01:09:09 |
From the top of their tanks, |
| 01:09:12 |
they started shouting, |
| 01:09:28 |
They claim that people were lined up |
| 01:09:33 |
So I called my commanding officer. |
| 01:09:38 |
I told him what I heard |
| 01:09:43 |
He said, âWe know about it. |
| 01:09:48 |
As far as I was concerned, |
| 01:09:52 |
Where was the operations room, |
| 01:09:57 |
About 100 yards away. |
| 01:10:01 |
How tall? |
| 01:10:05 |
They surely had a better view |
| 01:10:33 |
I didn't want to walk around at night, |
| 01:10:38 |
to my place in Bahabda. |
| 01:10:42 |
Micha Friedman was with me. |
| 01:10:47 |
Micha invited the guys from |
| 01:10:54 |
During the meal, |
| 01:10:59 |
He said: âRon, |
| 01:11:02 |
my men say there's a massacre |
| 01:11:08 |
He mentioned one or two incidents, |
| 01:11:12 |
saying a family was seen shot. |
| 01:11:14 |
I asked him again, |
| 01:11:18 |
"I didn't", he said, |
| 01:11:21 |
The officers sitting here did, too. " |
| 01:11:28 |
As soon as they left at 11:30 pm, |
| 01:11:33 |
I knocked back a whiskey |
| 01:11:39 |
At his ranch. |
| 01:11:41 |
Arik was half asleep. |
| 01:11:45 |
I said, "I've heard |
| 01:11:52 |
They are slaughtering Palestinians. |
| 01:11:57 |
He asked me, |
| 01:12:02 |
"No", I said, âbut there are |
| 01:12:08 |
"Okay", he said. |
| 01:12:11 |
"T hanks for bringing it |
| 01:12:14 |
You'd normally say, "I'll check it out, |
| 01:12:18 |
He said, âThanks for bringing it |
| 01:12:24 |
Well, something along those lines. |
| 01:12:27 |
It's amazing. |
| 01:12:31 |
it was carried out by |
| 01:12:36 |
All around were several circles |
| 01:12:42 |
Every circle had some information. |
| 01:12:45 |
The first one had the most. However, |
| 01:12:48 |
the penny didn't drop. |
| 01:12:51 |
They didn't realize |
| 01:12:54 |
What circle were you in? |
| 01:12:56 |
In the second or third. |
| 01:12:58 |
What did you do? |
| 01:13:03 |
We stood on a roof |
| 01:13:07 |
With what? |
| 01:13:11 |
Flares that must have helped them |
| 01:13:21 |
Did you fire the flares? |
| 01:13:23 |
Is that important? |
| 01:13:25 |
Does it make any difference |
| 01:13:29 |
or if I just saw the flares |
| 01:13:34 |
In your state of mind at that time, |
| 01:13:38 |
You can't remember the massacre |
| 01:13:43 |
the murderers and those around them |
| 01:13:47 |
You felt guilty at the age of 19. |
| 01:13:50 |
Unwillingly, |
| 01:13:53 |
You were there firing flares, |
| 01:14:12 |
I woke up at 5 or 5:30, |
| 01:14:18 |
the whole team. |
| 01:14:20 |
Then I drove to Sabra and Shatila. |
| 01:14:24 |
When I arrived there... |
| 01:14:27 |
What a mess! |
| 01:14:31 |
You know that picture |
| 01:14:36 |
The one with the kid |
| 01:14:42 |
That's just how the long line of women, |
| 01:14:45 |
old people and children looked. |
| 01:14:48 |
I thought about |
| 01:14:52 |
but as I was leaving, |
| 01:14:56 |
He drove to the head of the convoy. |
| 01:14:59 |
His angry gestures |
| 01:15:03 |
And that was the end of it. |
| 01:15:35 |
The Phalangists |
| 01:15:38 |
The women and children |
| 01:15:43 |
The Palestinians? |
| 01:15:52 |
I said to my men, |
| 01:15:57 |
With those women and children. |
| 01:16:01 |
We'll see what happened in there. " |
| 01:16:05 |
Inside the camp we saw |
| 01:16:08 |
My eye caught |
| 01:16:10 |
a hand, a small hand. |
| 01:16:13 |
A child's hand |
| 01:16:19 |
I looked a bit closer and saw curls. |
| 01:16:25 |
A head of curls covered in dust. |
| 01:16:30 |
But it was a head, |
| 01:16:38 |
A hand and a head. |
| 01:16:40 |
My own daughter was the same age |
| 01:16:44 |
And she had curly hair, too. |
| 01:16:53 |
The Palestinians in refugee camps |
| 01:16:57 |
These courtyards were full |
| 01:17:00 |
The young men had been shot first. |
| 01:17:03 |
Then the rest of the family |
| 01:17:08 |
We entered one alley, |
| 01:17:12 |
the width of a man and a half |
| 01:17:15 |
That alley was full... |
| 01:17:18 |
Piled up to the height of a man's chest |
| 01:17:24 |
with the bodies of young men. |
| 01:17:26 |
That's when I became aware |
