Powerful animated film (Grave Of The Fireflies (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Grave Of The Fireflies (DVD)
Date:	16/09/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story

Disadvantages: VERY bleak

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

Studio Ghibli are known for their quirky and visually stunning works, particularly those directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki (who made such greats as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Ponyo). However, they're not so famous for films such as Grave of the Fireflies, an almost unrelentingly downbeat animated film that's among the most powerful and driven films that the form has ever seen.

The film takes place at the end of World War II, and is a pungent anti-war story that's surely among the most wrenching and achingly humanistic ever animated. The premise revolves around Seita and his young sister Setsuko as they try to survive in abject poverty. Their mother died in the firebombing of Kobe City, meaning they're pretty much on their own with little food, and even their own people look down on them, trying to survive themselves. This is a dark and depressing tale that offers no easy solutions and really is dark and dreary right until its heartbreaking climax.

Still, whilst it's not an easy film to watch by any means, this is proof that animated films don't just have to be about fluffy and fuzzy anthropomorphic animals, and in fact they can have far more intellectual and powerful uses, such as the pungent anti-War message here. It shows, as most of us know, that the ultimate tragedy of war is that nobody wins - people die, lives are destroyed, and innocence is very much lost. It's utterly wrenching but rewarding for those with the stomach to sit through it - this will change the way you look at animation.

A great, highly downbeat and affecting tale of surviving in a truly terrifying world. The ending is as harrowing as you can get.

Summary: As bleak as they come, but powerful