Movie review: Grave of the fireflies

 Movie review: Grave of the Fireflies(1988)            

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese war-drama animated movie based on the semi-autobiographical story by Akiyuki Nosaka, written and directed by Isao Takahata. The movie depicts the day to day struggles of two siblings in the final moments of war world 2. This film is widely regarded as one of the greatest anti-war films ever made. on the other hand many people also say that the depiction of the reality and brutality in this film, somehow made the film unwatchable to a sensitive person.

                         Plot and presentation: 

As mentioned earlier, this movie portrays the journey of a brother and a sister during the tough times of  WW2. The movie is set in the Japanese town Kobe which was heavily affected by the firebombing during world war 2. This movie is told from the perspective of Seita, a teenage boy who tries all his best to keep his little sister Setsuko happy and well during the tough time. The movie takes you to an emotional roller coaster. There are no doubt many films made based on the aftermath and tragedy of a war, but very few are as sensitive as this one. It is often regarded as one of the most depressing movies ever made and the most depressing animated movie of all time. 

The movie begins with Seita dying on the Kobe railway station and then the movie tells us the complete backstory of their life. The movie beautifully depicts the brother-sister relationship. Even when they are not even close to economical well being, they don't know if they can eat food the next day yet they are still happy and joyful with whatever they have. This kind of bond really touches the core of our hearts and we are automatically get emotionally connected to the characters.

The ending is what that makes Grave of the Fireflies so special. The end scene will leave you devastated and depressed even after the movie is over. The movie also reflects to the society and social bonding of that time. The director may wants to give a message that if we can take a little responsibility of not only ourselves but also the people around us or even just our close relatives, our lives can be a lot better. Ultimately, director Isao Takahata doesn't label this movie as an anti-war film, but rather a movie made for the younger generation so that they can learn about the difficulties their father or uncle faced during war times. 

What made Grave of the Fireflies so special: 

• Grave of the Fireflies is only 1 hour and 30 minutes long, but in that short period of time the movie doesn't fail to connect the audience to its characters emotionally. 
• We become so attached with its characters that we may feel their pain and sorrow as our own and that's a big achievement for the creators. 
• The animation is done by studio Ghibli and it is one of the best of their creations. The animation looks flawless and the facial expression of the characters are also up to the mark. 

Flaws:

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the greatest animated movies ever made and there's no doubt about that, but that doesn't necessarily mean its completely flawless. Some of the negative points of this movie are

From the beginning the movie is somehow predictable. Right from the start we already know what's gonna happen at the end so the movie never quite surprised us.

Another negative point about the movie can be that the movie could have a lot better ending. If the main protagonist acted just a little sensitively or wisely, then maybe we wouldn't have to face the painful ending. This also leaves the audience with a some unanswered questions. 

Verdict:

Grave of the Fireflies has its flaws,nevertheless its a great film and a must watch for all those people who take interest in this genre. The rating for this movie would be 8.5/10.