Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

 4/4

Starring (voices): Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi

Not Rated (probable R for Images of War)

Note: this is a rewrite of my original review of this film.  For the record, the original review can be found here.

"Grave of the Fireflies" is absolutely devastating.  It's so emotionally wrenching that, yes, I would compare it to films such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List."  That the film is animated does not lessen the brutal impact of watching this movie.  In fact, it's exactly why this film has such power.

"September 21, 1945...that was the night I died."  Seita (Tatsumi) utters those words as he watches the life ebb out of his body.  He then rejoins his sister Setsuko (Shiraishi) as they journey to the next life.

The film then turns the clock back about six months.  Seita is caring for his ailing mother and Setsuko as they fight to survive in the waning days of WWII.  A bombing raid kills their mother, forcing the two to live with their aunt (their father is at sea).  Her initial charity turns to anger at having more mouths to feed, and they decide to live on their own.  Initially, they are happy, but then Setsuko gets sick, and there is little that her brother can do for her.

This isn't an especially violent film in the traditional sense, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing.  The late director Isao Takahata is less interested in the violence than he is in the aftermath.  We see dead bodies with faces trapped in endless screams.  The dead are found rotting everywhere, ignored and forgotten like trash.  We see a group of bodies charred beyond recognition by the firebombing.  And Seita watches his badly burned and bandaged mother die right in front of him.  One image in particular stands out: Seita looks up at the sky and sees a group of firebombs hurtling towards him.  It's horrifying, and at the same time, strangely beautiful.

It is the film's matter-of-fact quality that makes this film so tough to watch.  Takahata draws inspiration partly from Italian Neo-realism.  The way that cities are destroyed and the dead are dumped into mass graves is not hyped up or dramatized.  Takahata simply looks.  He creates a reality that where people live under constant suffering, and where self-preservation is the only way to survive.

Not to be forgotten are the two figures at the center of the story: Seita and Setsuko.  They are normal kids in an extraordinary situation with the deck stacked against him.  Setsuko is about four, and does not fully understand what is going on in the world.  Seita is older, perhaps fourteen, and does the best he can to help her.  He makes mistakes and pays for them, but we identify with him, and that's the important thing.  Setsuko works as a character because she acts just like a normal toddler.  She is innocent and naive (sometimes blissfully so), but prone to tantrums and crying.  They are less "characters" in the traditional sense and more normal kids in a horrible situation.

At first it might seem that a war film like "Grave of the Fireflies" would be an odd choice for animation, but the truth is that the fact that it is animated allows us to see the humanity of the story.  The film is less busy and less "real," if that's the right word.  Therefore we can concentrate on the emotional impact.  That we associate animation with kid friendly entertainment actually helps the film in this way.  In fact, there are isolated scenes that feel reminiscent of a Disney movie (the film has its moments of levity, but that makes the film's trajectory all the more painful).  That being said, this film is certainly not appropriate for children.  It is simply too disturbing for the very young.  Had this gone by the MPAA, I cannot see them giving this anything less than an R rating.

It would be a mistake to believe that, because this film centers on Japanese civilians during WWII, that it would, in some way, be apologetic or sympathetic to the Empire of Japan.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The film is resolutely not political.  It doesn't take sides any more than a movie like "Downfall" does.  In fact, Takahata firmly stated: "[The film] is not at all an anti-war anime and contains absolutely no such message."  Rather, it was more about children who lived a failed life because of the apathy of society.  While it can be certainly read as both, Takahata takes considerable care to neither demonize nor sympathize.  Like the best filmmakers, he observes his characters as an impartial force.

The movie is not traditionally grouped in with other Studio Ghibli movies, perhaps because Disney never had the distribution rights for North America (they have them for Japan, however).  Or possibly because it isn't anything like other films by the beloved studio.  Nevertheless, it did put them on the map and allowed them to go on to make such classics as "Only Yesterday" and, of course, Miyazaki's one-two punch of "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away."  When it was released, it was shown as a double-bill with "My Neighbor Totoro," but people left after the Miyazaki feature because they didn't want to be depressed after watching something so ebullient.  Had they switched the order, it might have worked.  After all, what better tonic is there after watching "Grave of the Fireflies" than something as light as a Miyazaki film?

"Grave of the Fireflies" is a film of uncommon beauty and stark horror.  The images it creates are as gorgeous as they are harrowing.  It is all the more sad because it is inspired by a true story.  Novelist Akiyuki Nosaka lost his sister to malnutrition during WWII and wrote the book to deal with his guilt.  In making this film, Nosaka and Takahata have ensured that the dead will never be forgotten, and that the greatest victims of war are often the ones who have nothing to do with it.