Grave of the Fireflies
In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of the true tragedy of war and innocence lost, not only of the abandoned young, but of an entire nation.
Member Reviews
Bittersweet and oh so sad - onebluedog
This is old style anime - don't expect Miyazaki. It deals with the effect of war on civilians - by definition, anyone looking for a happy story should be looking elsewhere. Yet, despite the sadness, this movie shows more than anything how love can triumph over even the worst kind of adversity. The two kids showed incredible resourcefulness and resilience, and managed to steal many moments of happiness in an environment where not much happiness was on offer. They fought with the only weapon they had - love, and went out with more style than many a front line soldier. These were the real war heroes.
War kills, unmercifully. For every movie glorifying the heroics of combat, we should have ten movies like this. Watch this and weep.Unbelievably - Alyosha
GOOD and unbelievably sad!
Unquestionably one of the greatest animated films that ever was or ever will be, Grave of the Fireflies is also one of the most depressing. Though required viewing for any serious fan of animation, this is not a movie to watch more than once or twice in a lifetime. Well, Central Park Media is forcing another look at this incredible (and incredibly sad) work by finally giving it a deluxe DVD release worthy of its stature.
Despite possibly being the most significant event in Japanese history, few anime are set during World War II, which immediately distinguishes Grave of the Fireflies from the pack. Though it shares some themes and a historical backdrop with Barefoot Gen, Fireflies is on the whole a very different animal, and remains unique in the world of animation. Gen is a story of survival and triumph over adversity; Fireflies is quite the opposite, as it's made clear in the first five minutes of the movie neither of its protagonists will survive 'til the end. The whole film can be summed up in one horrible sentence, “Two kids lose their parents and starve to death.” For good reason, no one has before or since attempted to put such a bleak story to animation. There's nothing entertaining about children starving. But if that were REALLY all it was about, the film would be an utter failure except as a harsh critical commentary.
The film works because of the relationship between Seita and his little sister Setsuko. It's not about their hardships so much as how they react to those hardships, and how they stick together to the bitter end. It's about Seita doing acrobatic tricks to entertain Setsuko even though their mother has just passed away. It's about two children playing at the beach despite their gloomy predicament. Even when they are forced to live in a riverside bunker, they make the most of it, and Setsuko delights in playing house (“This will be the kitchen, and this will be the front door,”). Truly, GraveCharacterization the key to this tragic tale - Sphere
There is a scene near the end of Grave of the Fireflies in which Seita, the young male protagonist, is being released by a kind-hearted police officer after having been caught stealing food to feed his little sister. Seita, leaving the station beaten and bruised, tired and finally realizing the gravity of his situation, finds his four-year old sister waiting for him. He begins to weep and falls to his knees, embracing her. After allowing herself to be embraced for a moment -- ramrod-straight and seemingly without understanding of this outpouring of affection which she takes so completely for granted -- she says "Seita, I have to go to the bathroom."
A base director would have played the scene for easy sentiment. A lesser director would have played it as comic relief. In this version, though, played absolutely straight, we see merely a little girl, tired and hungry, interacting with her big brother.
And thus marks the brilliance of the movie. It is moments like these, devoid of cheap melodrama, which beguile us into believing these are two real children, not mere fictional representations. Indeed, it is only after seeing such a thoughtful, understanding portrayal of children on-screen that we realize just how false the onslaught of wise-cracking, line-spouting mini-adults of the typical family comedy rings.
Which is not to say that there is no sentiment in this movie. Quite the contrary. However, the portrait of these two characters so evidently comes from a study of the actions, speech and gestures of real children that the entire story, however implausible, becomes not just believable but gripping. These moments of reality, of the benign and the banal, in effect earn the movie the right to become the tear-jerker which so few movies can become without contrived situations and easy setnimentality.
Quite apart from the bombast and bravado of the typical war-era movie, or the glorification of war that even the most strident of ant
Member Reviews
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Bittersweet and oh so sad - onebluedog
This is old style anime - don't expect Miyazaki. It deals with the effect of war on civilians - by definition, anyone looking for a happy story should be looking elsewhere. Yet, despite the sadness, this movie shows more than anything how love can triumph ...Unbelievably - Alyosha
GOOD and unbelievably sad!
Unquestionably one of the greatest animated films that ever was or ever will be, Grave of the Fireflies is also one of the most depressing. Though required viewing for any serious fan of animation, this is not a movie to watch ...Characterization the key to this tragic tale - Sphere
There is a scene near the end of Grave of the Fireflies in which Seita, the young male protagonist, is being released by a kind-hearted police officer after having been caught stealing food to feed his little sister. Seita, leaving the station beaten and bruised, ...