Grave of the FirefliesWar is truly a tragic thing. War destroys the possessions we hold dear, including our homes. War forces law-abiding citizens into criminal action out of desperation. And worst of all, war devalues life, and the people who have no political investment in the war are forgotten, casualties of circumstance, innocents discarded in the faded vestiges of history. Grave of the Fireflies chronicles the story of Seita, a young Japanese boy at the conclusion of World War II, and also his brief existence. As his hold on life ebbs away, his soul is rejoined by his sister Setsuko (age 4), and the two revisit their final days in 1945.
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Grave of the Fireflies is often described as an anti-war movie; and though the film begins with the fire bombing of Kobe in 1945 by the U.S. military, it is not concerned with assigning villainy to America, which would be an easy road to take for a war movie like this. Grave of the Fireflies shows us the consequences of the attack on civilians, noncombatants who are the real victims of the devastation more than fervent patriots--the only avowed patriot in the wake of the inferno comes across as ridiculous, praising the emperor as the other citizens watch their city burn behind him. Immediately after the bombing, the children are anxious, unsure, left wandering in search of their mother, and it is pang that sticks with them for the rest of the movie. This sentiment--loss of home and family--would resonate with anyone, but is heightened in Seita and Setsuko. Their mother sustains grievous burns in the attack, and perishes overnight--she is consigned to an improvised mass crematorium, although Seita withholds this information from Setsuko. I don't believe that Seita is cowardly--although at his young age, even this would be forgiven--but rather that he feels obligated to shield Setsuko from the horrors of war as much as possible, a task he tragically discovers he is ill-equipped to handle on his own. The two children then seek refuge with the only relative they can locate, their aunt on their father's side--their father is off fighting in the Pacific somewhere in the Japanese navy. Rather than obsess solely about the military attacks, Grave of the Fireflies also portrays the social injustice carried out against the two orphans of war, as their aunt manipulates and even steals from the two in order to feed herself, daughter, and an unrelated lodger. Seita eventually gets wise to his aunt's machinations, and retreats to an abandoned bomb shelter with Setsuko, where the two of them attempt to live independent of supervision and a world bound to a regiment of rationing food and seemingly indifferent to their plight. Seita learns that in order for he and Setsuko to survive, he must find a way for them to eat, often resorting to stealing food--even rushing headlong into bombing runs in desperation to procure goods to pawn--while Setsuko becomes increasingly malnourished. Seita is burdened with more than he can bear, and though he tries valiantly, he is too far adrift and unable to steer Setsuko's health back on course. Grave of the Fireflies highlights the ultimate cost of fostering a culture where innocent lives like Seita and Setsuko are treated so poorly. They are victims of a war they cannot hope to understand, innocent noncombatants who remain tragic sacrifices and reflect our own indifference at the loss of life in war, abroad and at home.
While Grave of the Fireflies is sometimes attributed to anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki--this film was also produced by Studio Ghibli--Grave of the Fireflies is actually written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. Nosaka wrote the story based on autobiographical events, and the tragic authenticity is apparent in the plot, so genuine that it makes it easy to connect with characters like Seita and Setsuko, which further makes it all the more sorrowful when their lives become so harrowing. The film is filled with poignant metaphors and heart-rending scenes. Backdrops of locales are realistic, not stylized, and are reminiscent of the "pillow shots" often associated with the works of Japanese filmmaker, Yasujiro Ozu, where these shots can establish mood and are themselves a meditation on the events of the plot. Although Seita is our late narrator and it is principally from his perspective which the story of Grave of the Fireflies is told, Setsuko is the most tragic victim of all. Here is a child beaming with an uncolored view of the world, a convincing toddler and a sweet girl who likes fruit drops and playing at the beach. She is bright, and in one of many great scenes, after she cries for candy, and Seita shows her she only has three drops left, she licks the flecks from the candy, and saves them for later, discovering the virtues of rationing what she has for when she needs it most. The theme of "fire" is woven throughout the film, from the fire bombing, to the titular "fireflies", which glow and illuminate Seita and Setsuko's evenings, as well as the cremations. The fireflies themselves are also remarkably fragile creatures; when Setsuko first attempts to grab one, she accidentally kills it. Later, Setsuko and Seita gather many more to light their cave within the mosquito netting--creating a star-like canopy of magical proportions. But when Seita awakens to find Setsuko digging a mass grave for the fireflies the next morning, Setsuko asks, "why do fireflies have to die so soon?" The message is clear, and we feel the impending doom lurking over the two children, wishing we could reverse the opening testament of Seita in the first lines uttered by the young boy: "September 21, 1945... that was the night I died."
Recommended for: Fans of a highly emotional movie about the tragedies of war, and fans of animation that has a serious story and message. And bring your Kleenex...you'll need it.
While Grave of the Fireflies is sometimes attributed to anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki--this film was also produced by Studio Ghibli--Grave of the Fireflies is actually written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. Nosaka wrote the story based on autobiographical events, and the tragic authenticity is apparent in the plot, so genuine that it makes it easy to connect with characters like Seita and Setsuko, which further makes it all the more sorrowful when their lives become so harrowing. The film is filled with poignant metaphors and heart-rending scenes. Backdrops of locales are realistic, not stylized, and are reminiscent of the "pillow shots" often associated with the works of Japanese filmmaker, Yasujiro Ozu, where these shots can establish mood and are themselves a meditation on the events of the plot. Although Seita is our late narrator and it is principally from his perspective which the story of Grave of the Fireflies is told, Setsuko is the most tragic victim of all. Here is a child beaming with an uncolored view of the world, a convincing toddler and a sweet girl who likes fruit drops and playing at the beach. She is bright, and in one of many great scenes, after she cries for candy, and Seita shows her she only has three drops left, she licks the flecks from the candy, and saves them for later, discovering the virtues of rationing what she has for when she needs it most. The theme of "fire" is woven throughout the film, from the fire bombing, to the titular "fireflies", which glow and illuminate Seita and Setsuko's evenings, as well as the cremations. The fireflies themselves are also remarkably fragile creatures; when Setsuko first attempts to grab one, she accidentally kills it. Later, Setsuko and Seita gather many more to light their cave within the mosquito netting--creating a star-like canopy of magical proportions. But when Seita awakens to find Setsuko digging a mass grave for the fireflies the next morning, Setsuko asks, "why do fireflies have to die so soon?" The message is clear, and we feel the impending doom lurking over the two children, wishing we could reverse the opening testament of Seita in the first lines uttered by the young boy: "September 21, 1945... that was the night I died."
Recommended for: Fans of a highly emotional movie about the tragedies of war, and fans of animation that has a serious story and message. And bring your Kleenex...you'll need it.