Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
9/10
Starring the voices of
Tsutomu Tatsumi
Ayano Shiraishi
Yoshiko Shinohara
Akemi Yamaguchi
Directed by Isao Takahata
Set in the city
of Kobe, Japan, the film tells the story of two siblings, Seita and Setsuko,
and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of the Second
World War. The heart of this animation lies in the drama that unfolds steadily.
You get to witness the power of movie-making as the film transmits the hurt and
pain from the screen to the heart. This is one of the best movies you can see
and one of the best anime films out there.
The screenplay
is written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on a short story by Akiyuki
Nosaka. Nosaka wrote the fifteen-page short story as a semi-autobiography about
his experience during the firebombing of Kobe in 1945. It was there he lost his
sisters and adoptive younger sister.
When you're done
watching this film, you’ll agree with its critical acclaim and accept that it
can stand up against any present-day challenger as one of the best war movies
to see. The tragic tale of two siblings just trying to get by is
well-structured in this anime by Takahata.
The animation
for this movie was done by Studio Ghibli, but they had no hand in the story or
direction of the film.
The plot starts
with a tragedy, and we witness all the events that lead to that unfortunate
state. Seita is a teenager during World War II, in September of 1945. His sad
tale begins with the firebombing of his town, Kobe.
During the raid,
Seita's mother told him and his little sister Setsuko to move in with their
aunt during the raid and they would meet up later. The raid was deadly, and
many people did not survive. It was there that the tragic tales in Seita’s life
began. His mother did not make it out. He and Setsuko moved in with their aunt,
but that experience didn’t go well for them. Soon, they were forced to venture
out on their own and fend for themselves. The anime takes a darker turn from
here as we see the struggles these siblings face to eat, care for themselves,
and endure even more tragedy.
This 1988
production is still readily available for viewing, and I beg you to take the
time to see it. Two live-action adaptations of this anime have been made. I
haven’t seen any, but I wonder if they were able to capture the desolation and
destruction this anime portrayed so well.
This is a
classic.
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