For some reason BuzzFlash readers tend to stay away from premiums about the Middle East, but this is a 2009 Academy Award nominated film that we highly recommend for its innovation, portrayal of the insanity of war, plot development, and gripping "real" script.

Prominent Israeli film director Ari Folman tells the story of how a conversation with a former Israeli military comrade led to his realization about his role in the disastrous Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, which culminated in a bloodletting massacre at the Shatila and Sabra Palestinian refugee camps.

It is all based on the factual journey Folman took to fill in the memory hole of his role as a soldier in the invasion -- and how the Israeli Army did not intervene in the Phalangist massacre (due to the lack of interest in Ariel Sharon, then the Israeli Minister Defense, intervening, even though the IDF surrounded the camps and likely could have forced the Christian Phalangists to back down -- a fact that was confirmed by a special Israeli commission that reprimanded Sharon for his role).

It would be extremely misguided to label this Israeli film, nominated for an academy award as best foreign film this year, as being anti-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. This is a personal journey into the horrors of war and into the insanity of armed conflict.

Somehow, it also manages to be suspenseful. Remember, we are following a middle-aged man recovering memories of his service in the military during a horrifying conflict while at the same time witnessing the absurdities of war -- and meeting witnesses and psychiatrists along the way (remember, who are all saying in the film the words that the protagonist, the director, heard while undertaking this journey of self-discovery.)

We'd recommend that you click the (blue box) above and also get "Persepolis," which is a black and white graphic film ("Waltz with Bashir" is in muted, evocative color) that through a rebellious young woman (in this case the graphic artist now living in Paris) tells the story of the tragic farce of the Shah, the Iranian Revolution, and racism in Europe.

We know that a film about the invasion of Lebanon 20 years ago (not the more recent one) and a massacre sounds uninviting, but -- to the contrary -- it is a mesmerizing personal tale about rediscovering the horror and lunacy of war.

One of the great ironies of this film is that it was a big hit in Lebanon and a source of great pride in Israel, which has a burgeoning, sophisticated film industry.

Go figure!

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