Studio Gihbli movies (Movie) Reviews
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1476
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| Title(s): |
Studio Gihbli movies
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| Creator: |
Hayao Miyazaki,
Isao Takahata
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| Genres: |
Action,
Adventure,
Drama
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| Age Group: |
All Ages (Nothing objectionable) |
| Vintage: |
April 16, 1988 |
| Status: |
Completed |
| Summary: |
Taking place toward the end of World War II in Japan, Grave of the Fireflies is the tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, pre-teen Seita (清太) and his young sister Setsuko (節子). The movie begins in Sannomiya Station and portrays Seita, in rags and dying of starvation. A janitor comes and digs through his possessions, and finds a candy tin containing ashes and bones. He throws it out, and from it springs the spirit of Setsuko, Seita, and a cloud of fireflies. The spirit of Seita continues to narrate their story, which is, in effect, an extended flashback to Japan near the end of World War II, during the Kobe firebombings.
The flashback begins with American B-29s, a symbol of the power of the American war machine let loose by Japan, flying overhead. Setsuko and Seita, the two siblings, are left to secure the house and their belongings, allowing their mother, who suffers from a heart complaint, to move to a bomb shelter. They are caught off-guard by firebombs dropped in their neighborhood, and although they survive unscathed, their mother is caught in the air raid. She is taken to a hospital and later dies from her burns. Having nowhere else to go, Setsuko and Seita move in with a distant aunt, who allows them to stay but convinces Seita to sell his mother's kimonos for rice. While living with their relatives, Seita goes out to retrieve leftover supplies he had buried in the ground before the bombing. He gives all of it to his aunt, but hides a small tin of fruit drops, which becomes a recurrent icon throughout the film. Their aunt continues to feed and shelter them but as they gradually begin to run out of rice and food, she abruptly becomes increasingly cold and resentful. During breakfast one day, she openly remarks on how they do nothing to earn the food she cooks for them or help around the house and have outstayed their welcome.
Seita and Setsuko finally decide to leave and move into an abandoned bomb shelter. They fill it with fireflies for light, but Setsuko is horrified to find that the next day they are all dead. She digs them a grave and buries them all, asking why they have to die, and why her mother had to die. What begins as an optimistic new lease on life gradually grows grim as they run out of rice, and Seita is forced to steal crops from local farmers and loot homes during air raids. When he is caught stealing sugar, he realizes his desperation and takes an increasingly ill Setsuko to a doctor, who informs him that Setsuko is suffering from malnutrition but offers no help or advice. In a panic, Seita withdraws all the money remaining in their mother's bank account, but while at the bank he learns of Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies and the probable death of his father. He returns to the shelter with large quantities of food, only to find a dying Setsuko hallucinating, sucking ohajiki as if they were fruit drops. Setsuko offers Seita 'rice balls' which are really only dirt clods. Seita gives her a bite of watermelon and hurries to cook some food, but she "doesn't wake up." Seita uses supplies donated to him by a farmer to cremate her, and puts some of her ashes in the fruit tin which he carries with his father's photograph until his death in the train station on September 21, 1945.
At the end of the film, the spirits of Seita and Setsuko are seen, no longer ragged and emaciated but healthy and well-dressed, sitting side-by-side as they look down on the modern-day city of Kobe. |
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Reviews
| Excellent |
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3 reviews
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75% |
| Good |
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0 reviews |
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0% |
| Average |
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1 review
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25% |
| Poor |
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0 reviews |
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0% |
| Very Poor |
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0 reviews |
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0% |
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So Heartrending it almost kiils you
Written by axion10 on March 13, 2012 at 3:50 PM |
Overall Rating
Excellent
Story: 5
Dialogue: 5
Animation: 5
Entertainment: 5
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I have only ever been exposed to Miyazaki's "nice" and "cute" films. Sure they deal with deep issues but I have never even heard of this film before; and Grave of the Fireflies is even older than Spirited away. It is a very heartrending story about a war torn Japan and its young victims who died in the midst of battle and disdain - even abused and rejected by their own families because they are considered a nuisance. I have not seen the entire film, just about half of it and when I noticed it wasn't on here I attempted to upload it Xo Fingers crossed that it works. I can really appreciate a work like this because it really shows a dedication to realism that so-called slice of life anime have lost to popular culture. It's encouraging enough that even in anime people are urged to remember the past - the history of a great country and in so doing remind themselves of who they are and why they are. I love this film. I hope you will too :).
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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