Review #24 | Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. (Wikipedia)

Grave of the Fireflies, 1988

Grave of the Fireflies opens on an evening in 1945, after Japan's surrender at the end of World War II; and in a train station, the young Seita dies alone. The rest of the movie tells us, in flashback, how things have come to this. Seita and Setsuko are two young Japanese children growing up in the waning days of World War II. Much to Seita's pride, their father is in the Japanese navy, and they live fairly content lives in Kobe despite rationing and the other privations of war. When their mother dies from burns suffered during an American fire-bombing raid, a distant aunt takes them in -- and conflict eventually forces the children to try to survive on their own. At first, Seita and his little sister enjoy their idyllic lives in the country, but harsh reality eventually settles in as Seita begins to understand the difficulties of taking care of a young child when both food and compassion are scarce.

Grave of the Fireflies is no movie for kids. The feature film captures the tragic moments after war. The first scene of the young Seita dying in a train station makes the audience wonder how he came to the state of dying all alone with an old rusty candy can.

Music plays a big role because it sets up the gloomy mood and the tragedy of war. Seita and his sister are left alone with no parents living one their own. The filmmakers capture small tiny parts of moments in life.

It is a melancholy movie and reveals the reality. It is a really sad film but I liked how it was different from other animated films I watched because of its sad story. There are still countries at was and the children living there will go through the similar life as Seita and Setsuko went through.

Final Thoughts: I probably won’t watch this film out of pleasure but it is a good reminder of what war brings. It did capture the essential moments of war. It is not a movie for entertainment but is for those who care for and wander why someone in the train station is sad and melancholy.

Inside Outside Rating: 67%