Review - Grave of the Fireflies
Reviewed by April Lassiter on 5.10.2008.
Score: 10/10
Sometimes I wish my life was an anime. It would be full of ridiculous boys that get nosebleeds whenever they see hot girls. I would be surrounded by kawaii chibi characters having fantastical adventures. I, however, would not want my life to be like the lives of the characters in Grave of the Fireflies.
Set in Japan near the end of World War II, Seita and his sister Setsuko find they have no one but each other left when an air raid takes the life of their beloved mother. With their father fighting in the war and their closest relative being a miserly aunt who treats them poorly, they have no choice but to forge out on their own. This leads them to a place of deep beauty and disparaging sadness, where their only entertainment is the light of the fireflies.
It will be no spoiler to tell you in the first moments of the movie Seita narrates his own death. The sheer moroseness of the situation will make one feel a twang in the heart for these children, though their story has yet to be told. While Grave is full of loss and sadness from the very beginning, they seem to rise above for a time due to Seita's unfailing optimism and motivation and Setuko's child-like innocence. The tender-hearted be warned. This movie with bring forth in you a desperate hope that somehow these children will be able to rise above their situation. Your desire for them to live on because of the unbridled desire that Seita has to sustain his and his sister's lives will be overwhelmingly powerful.
The music is poignant and relevant in each area of the film. Melodies of joy from the children as they recall their mother and father, all the good times they shared, segued into more tragic tones during countless air raids, mistreatment from their aunt and an onset of illness. I enjoyed most the songs the children sang together. They were songs that made the children seem more like normal kids and not cast-asides from a brutal war.
I've never felt more like characters in an animated film were real as I have with the kids in Grave of the Fireflies. This film puts you in a place and time you know really existed. A genuine situation of despair contrasted by beautiful animation, fruit drops and small amounts of happiness the children manage to provide themselves. My heart went out to Seita and Setsuko from the very beginning to the very end. This is one of those situations where if someone asks, "How was that movie?", I can only reply with "It made me cry so much."
Not that I'm adverse to recommending this film to others - obviously from the 10 out of 10 score I've given it, I find that it's a stellar movie - rather, you have to be prepared to watch an anime that defies all others in the genre. It's not your typical Akira. There are no silly monsters or talking animals. This is a gritty movie that many could not watch due to its nature and content. However, if you're interested in opening your heart to an amazing movie, Grave of the Fireflies is a definite must. This tragic tale will leave you wondering, "Why do fireflies have to die so soon?"
