Movie 4: Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata

In a nutshell: Recommended. Uneven storytelling, but a powerful film

Content: I was warned ahead of time of the effects that this movie typically has on most people and, unfortunately, I think it softened the impact that it had on me. Nonetheless, I can fully appreciate this movie as one of the most-impactful anti-war movies ever created as some consider it to be. It is a devastating tale of two orphaned Japanese children during WWII doing their best to survive in a world where everyone else must put their own survival before the childrens', and at the same time attempting to maintain their childish innocence. I won't reveal the ending of this movie, but it is an extremely powerful one.

The movie's most powerful moments generally come when watching Setsuko, the 4 year-old younger sister, not fully grasp the seriousness of what is happening to her and her brother. She plays and pretends as Seita, the 14 year-old brother, smiles and pretends that everything is ok, making promises to Setsuko the he cannot possibly believe can happen. Seita does fully grasp what is happening, but cannot bring himself to rob his sister of her blissful ignorance.

I felt that the movie sometimes had odd pacing where key plot points were glossed over very quickly, but at the same time, this somehow ensures that the movie is not simply manipulating your emotions like movies like Armageddon do. Rather, the emotions that you feel come from the tragedies that are unfolding, and not from overly dramatic scenes. Although watching this movie could not be called a 'joyous' experience due to its tragic nature, and it is not a movie that people cherish watching over and over again, I believe that it would be a good candidate to me remade into a live action film (there already is a Japanese tv live action version).

It is absolutely amazing that an animated film could even be mentioned in the same breath as a movie like Schindler's List, but this movie deserves it. All in all, it is one of the most remarkable and certainly most powerful animated movies ever created. The hand-drawn animation itself is also very beautiful, half a notch below Miyazaki (who represents the best of the best).

If you choose to watch this movie, be prepared for a powerful and tragic film (i.e. not what you would usually expect from animation).

Rolling Rankings:
1. Sideways (#1)

2. Raising Arizona (#2)

3. Grave of the Fireflies (#4)

4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (#3)