December 10, 2009
''Why must fireflies die so young?''
A tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister's struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Tsutomu Tatsumi: Seita
Ayano Shiraishi: Setsuko
''September 21, 1945? that was the night I died''
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With those words starts director Isao Takahata's most famous film, Grave of the Fireflies(Hotaru no haka, 1988). Quite differently to his long time friend and colleague legendary Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata prefers to leave fantasy elements in his films to a bare minimum. This is the way Takahata amazes viewers and audiences. If Miyazaki's fantastic visions from Spirited Away for example, make our jaws drop to floor with amazement, Takahata's close to reality stories touch us deeply by hitting our emotions. Grave of the Fireflies certainly does that masterly; being one of the few films that has managed to move me to tears.
The film, based on a novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, tells the story of a young boy named Seita, who with his little sister Setsuko, lives in the 1940's Japan, during the World War II. After losing their mother during a bombing, Seita does everything in his power to create an illusion for Setsuko that things are fine and there is nothing to worry about. The film has been often blamed of being too depressing and having a sad conclusion, but I think it's the opposite. Of course this certainly is not the kind of film to make you smile, but it is already revealed in the beginning that both brother and sister will die. So when we reach the end of the movie; with an image of them as spirits, sitting on a bench looking happy and healthy, with a modern day city around them, this is actually a happy ending after all the suffering they went through.
It's very hard to say exactly why this film should deserve full stars from me. It just does. It's full of little beautiful scenes that instantly have an effect on you, accompanied by Michio Mamiya's peaceful music. Maybe the fact that it can make me wonder why it is so good is the proof enough to make it a masterpiece. And that is what "Grave of the Fireflies" is; a masterpiece. One of the most amazing films from Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata's most famous film. And definitely the ultimate proof that animations can be used for other than children's stories.
It's hard to watch Fireflies and feel positive at all; the death and loss is too much for a number of people to fathom. However upon my own reflection; the movie is one of the greatest studies into loss, love and tragedy ever, which will stay with you and compel you to take a second look at anime. For Anime is not simply just kiddie cartoons; it is simply another form of presenting a story in a different format.
Initially distributed with Tonari no Totoro(1988) because it was the only way that Miyazaki could have been able to make his Totoro. The reason being that the original film pitch for that film was rejected, so they pitched a double feature with Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies, and the project was eventually backed financially by the original writer of the book on which Grave is based. It often was overlooked as a film because whenever Totoro was screened first, people were left happy and did not wish to be saddened by Grave afterward.
Interestingly, in South Korea, the release of the movie at the time was postponed indefinitely because of the concern that the movie somewhat justified Japan's role in World War II.
Again, you realize immediately this isn't a fantasy piece like Spirited Away but one of reality; which ends up being just as genius and just as compelling to watch. Isao Takahata has crafted a tale that also has historical significance; in the sense it displays the sense of hopelessness and desperation in Japan at the time and especially near the end of the second Wold War. A nation that could not support itself; where the rich has always stayed rich and the poor become poorer; ending with a divide that bears similarities to Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. The reality of Hotaru no haka cannot be stressed enough, the struggle mesmerizingly significant. Propels Anime, lifting it to new dizzying heights of storytelling.
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