Animation Films . Ah, those rosey tales of romances as old as time , spoonfed to us by Disney for generations. These are the animation films, right ? Aaaand this is where Grave Of The Fireflies comes to the picture. It’s a Japanese animation film also known as anime, by the famous studio house , Studio Ghibli. It is partly based on the autobiographical story of Akiyuki Nosaka and is directed by Isao Takahata.
It is a tale of two siblings during the World War II and their attempts to survive the tragedy when America bombed Japan. The elder brother Seita is a teenager while his sister Setsuko is almost 5 years old child. Their father works at Navy and quite early in the film their mother is shown to be dead by American bombing at a shelter house. There starts the journey of survival by the two. During the time of the war the most precious thing of possession is food, even more than money. These orphaned children have had a hard time getting their necessary food. With Setsuko at his side, Seita tries his best to find some food and shelter for both of them, especially to keep his sister from falling sick. But , time is hard and common people has too little to be generous to others. Make no mistake, the children are not the hero in the film, they don’t get everything easily. Instead they are treated as two poor children in the aftermath of bombing. The pessimistic war atmosphere is depicted unflinchingly through brutally honest characterisation and their treatment is also as honest as it gets.
The recurring theme of fireflies in the movie is shown beautifully. They lend an aesthetic appeal to the grim backdrop of war while symbolising the end of innocence , greatly sumed up by Setsuko , ” Why must fireflies die so young ? “. The innocent big eyes of Setsuko and earnest love of Seita for his sister makes you empathise for them.
The film is told as humanely and as realistically as possible. It makes you fall in love with it and then devastates you with its ending. This is one of the most depressing tale on the effects of war on innocent people and in this aspect it does even a better job than Saving Private Ryan. The Fireflies and their graves symbolises that death is Death , you can’t escape it, no matter how innocent and beautiful you are. Honorary critic Ernest Rister has rightfully said “…despite the anime stylizations, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES is the most profoundly human animated film I’ve ever seen. This is to animation what SCHINDLER’S LIST was to Spielberg – both a long overdue display of artistic maturity and a bold statement of ability. ”
Another aspect of the film that makes it great is its honesty. It never delves into the questions like why America is bombing Japan, Is America the bad guy here ? What did Japan do so that its citizens are treated so inhumanly? The film universalises the pain of war inflicted upon common people. A great anti-war film that is as haunting and devastating as any war film you’ll come across. So next time if some negligent soul tells you that animation films are for kids, do them a favour and show them this masterpiece.
The Second Opinion 