Waltz With Bashir

What better way to inject new life into The Wasteland than with something of unquestionable quality? Something guaranteed to make it into many people's lists, including mine, of their favourite pieces of art in 2008. And, yes, it most certainly is art, not simply a film... Trust me!

Israeli director Ari Folman's interpretation of events in 1982, of which he was part and struggles in the narrative to recreate his memories of, is a truly original piece of work - it is animation, it is a documentary and it is a feature film, but combined these elements become something so much more... For want of something less pretentious (which does it's anything but pretentious achievement a dis-service) it is... An Experience. To try to explain what it is about or what it is like is totally pointless. Go and see it, let it carry you along and see where you end up. That's all.

I can say this: the animation is superb! At times it appears 3D, taking the breath away, and at others it seems as if new colours have been invented and you are seeing them for the first time! I hear that following its narrow failure to pick up the Palme D'Or at Cannes this year, it has been entered in the best animation category at the Oscars next year. It would not be inappropriate to see it in the best film category, full stop. So as it is in this lesser category, up against much lighter fare, it is another case for me of it either wins or I stop watching the Oscars!

The nature of memory, and of trauma are interesting indeed. I can remember only one other film that has moved me so much this year, and that too was a documentary - the inimitable Man On Wire. Although this film absolutely reinvents the documentary form, building a bridge between dry fact, entertainment and meaning. My end of year top ten is going to look quite different this time, it seems.