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Title: Grave of the Fireflies
UK Distributor:
Optimum Asia
BBFC Certificate: 12
Suggested Retail Price (SRP): £19.99
Running Time: 90mins (approx.)
Audio Options: English 2.0; Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English
Reviewer: Rich (Webmaster)
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How can you review this? It is a difficult thing to talk
about as it is the most spirit crushing and depressing film you will ever see
but it is also probably the best.
I’ll get the easy stuff out of the way. Grave of the Fireflies is brilliantly
animated and although the drawing style is obviously Ghibli it has that edge of
realism that made Whisper of the Heart so believable. The music is understated and
beautiful and the story is very well told.
Grave of the Fireflies is sad. Extremely sad. It is a war
film every bit as moving as the excellent Schindler’s List, but, whereas that film showed the
effects of war on a large scale, this shows the effects on the smallest – the
lives of two children. Many comparisons can be drawn between these films,
particularly the fact that they both show the true horror of war – not the
destruction in the trenches and on the battlegrounds, but the destruction in the
cities and of people’s lives who are not directly involved in the fighting.
They show the atrocities that affect the innocent, and are more powerful than
your Saving Private Ryan’s and your All Quiet on the Western Front’s because of
this. Both Schindler’s List and Grave of the Fireflies are also films that
everyone should see, young and old, ‘lest we forget’.
The story revolves around two children, Seita and his 4 year old sister Setsuko,
as they attempt to recover from the firebombing of their city. Orphaned and
unwanted the pair move from a relative’s house to live in abandoned air raid
shelter and struggle to survive until the war ends and their father returns from
the Navy.
Both Seita, unprepared for the challenge that awaits him, and the cute and
innocent Setsuko are very believable and this makes their struggle all the more
harrowing.
Grave of the Fireflies is a classic tragedy, in the same way as Romeo and Juliet
it tells you what happens at the start of the film and then jumps into the past
and you watch it unfold. This is what is powerful, you know what is going to
happen but you are willing the characters to escape it, even though you know
they won’t. Each missed opportunity hurts you as much as them; you can’t turn it
off though, even though it puts you through the emotional mangler.
This may make you think about avoiding it, but don’t. Grave of the Fireflies is
harrowing, in places it is shocking, but it is a beautiful film. Seita’s
sacrifices and spirit are inspiring and Setsuko’s playfulness and innocence are
so heart-warming you can’t help but smile. This film touches you on so many
levels it is unbelievable.
Films are meant to take you on a journey, they are meant to move you. This film
transcends its media and does just that. I guarantee you will cry by the end
and, if anything, it is even more moving on second viewing. This film did to me
what no other film has managed, it left me completely shell-shocked, it is one
of the greatest films of all time.
So why isn’t it top of my favourite films list on the ‘About Us’ page? Well the
reason is that I cannot watch it very often. It is probably the best film I have
ever seen and contains one of the best scenes in anime (when Seita and Setsuko
use fireflies to light their shelter at night) but it is so emotionally powerful
that you have to be in the right mood to see it, and it’s not a film you can sit
down and watch with a few mates.
But that is neither here nor there. This film is a must buy. You may not watch
it often but when you do everything else no longer matters as you urge Seita and
Setsuko to defy the inevitable. Extras:
Even more than most of the other Ghibli
Collection releases! This is a two disc set and whilst disc 1 carries the
storyboards for the whole film, disc 2 carries a host of extras including
several interviews, a 'historical perspective' documentary, biographies,
trailers, galleries, Japanese promotional material, a featurette on the film
restoration and galleries. Absolutely great stuff, and it is interesting
to see the real locations in the Japanese city of Kobe that feature in the film,
a selection of extras of extreme quality.
Ratings
Feature:
Extras:
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