Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Grave of the Fireflies Poster

Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) is a 1988 Japanese animated war drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story Grave of the Fireflies by Akiyuki Nosaka. The film stars Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara and Akemi Yamaguchi. 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. Grave of the Fireflies received acclaim from film critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times considered it to be one of the best and most powerful war films and, in 2000, included it on his "Great Movies" list. Two live-action remakes of Grave of the Fireflies were made, one in 2005 and one in 2008. It is commonly described as an anti-war film, but this interpretation has been denied by the director.

THIS IS A MUST WATCH MOVIE.




Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Akiyuki Nosaka (novel), Isao Takahata
Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi
IMDb Rating: 8.5

Awards:
Won 3 awards.
Blue Ribbon Awards-Special Award
Chicago International Children's Film Festival-Animation Jury Award, Rights of the Child Award

Movie Review:
If you don't like to cry the don't watch this movie. This is the most emotional animated movie I have ever seen. Animation is often seen as a childish medium, and for good reason as kid's films often are animated. However, every now and then an animated film comes along that extends it's boundaries and manages to deliver a very adult story, and Grave of the Fireflies is one of those films. Through it's well observed and very real characters, Grave of the Fireflies portrays a story of loss, heartbreak and the effect of war on civilians in a manner that is more effective and more firmly based in reality than many live action films about the same subject are. We follow Seita and Setsuko, a brother and sister that have lost their parents in the war and are now forced to fend for themselves in the war torn country. How the two go about doing that and the boy's development from a child to a (somewhat) responsible adult due to the change in the surroundings makes up the spine of the movie. The greatest achievement of this film is that, apart from a couple of obviously sentimental scenes, such as Setsuko's sobbing or illness, it doesn't force any false emotion on the viewer. It really comes from your involvement with the characters. It's completely honest to it's own story and even cuts off scenes abruptly, which could potentially have been milked for cheap sentiment. It often seems to say - This is what happened, you don't need to see anymore. Another of it's strengths is that it really doesn't comment on the politics of the war in any way, just the effects on innocent people.

Grave of the Fireflies Trailer (1988)