THE GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
Grave of the Fireflies is a film that was surprisingly made by Studio Ghibli and is considered by many to be the crudest of all Ghibli's films. At the same time, it is a film that should be seen, even once in a lifetime—one of my favorites of the animation studio. And one of those that give you more knots in your throat than you'd like. Without further ado, today, we bring you a short review of this great movie.
The film tells the story of Seita, a teenager who tries to protect his younger sister Setsuko as the war draws to an end. When their mother is killed in a bombing, Seita and Setsuko cannot communicate with their father, a navy admiral, take refuge at their aunt's house.
But living together does not work out as the siblings would like, and they go to live alone in a cave. There, they both survive on the little money they had left until they die of starvation. Takahata shows us Seita's death right at the beginning of the film, and it is his ghost that becomes the narrator of the story. As soon as it begins, the film's inevitably tragic tone is set, and it is announced that the important thing is not in the superficial part of the plot.
Grave of the Fireflies aims not to induce the viewer into despair for an hour and a half. Takahata avoids this danger by working with two realities in constant conflict. All of Seita's efforts are aimed at keeping his four-year-old sister from suffering: he hides the death of their mother from her, decides to leave the safety of their aunt's house when Setsuko comments that she doesn't like it, and desperately searches for food to feed her and keep her alive.
Thus, the young man builds a reality in which only he and his sister exist, separated from the world and the war. When the two go to the beach to play and bathe, he prevents his sister from looking at a corpse hidden between two boats, just as he entertains her by doing exercises on a bar when the girl learns that her mother is ill.
Seen from this perspective alone, Grave of the Fireflies could be a heartfelt melodrama about a young man's efforts to preserve his sister's innocence. The result would not be far from La vita è Bella, but Takahata's gaze is much more complex and crueler (or honest). By keeping the narrative focus fixed on Seita, the film allows us to see what the boy sees, that Japan in ruins, but also his fantasies.
This boy, who longs to return to the glorious Japan that would bring its enemies to their knees and conquer the world, uses his sister as a shield to deny the reality that surrounds him, oppresses and saddens him to levels he is unable to process. But Takahata makes sure that this act of denial is not in conflict with the love that Seita feels for Setsuko, always working with that duality that Kurosawa mentioned. Grave of the Fireflies is as much the story of a country immersed in the mourning process of its warmongering fantasy as it is of two brothers struggling to stay together, to stay alive, and to stay loving each other.
Seita dreams of returning to the time before the war, of being protected again under the shadow of his loving mother and the imposing father figure, that admiral who is only shown standing tall as a stick and in uniform, a military man before he is a father. It is to this era that he refers when, in the middle of the night, he wakes up singing a war song that talks about crushing the enemy.
When Seita goes back to lie down and curls up next to his sister, looking for some human warmth, she throws him out, complaining that he won't let her sleep. It then becomes clear to what extent Seita needs Setsuko much more than his sister needs him.
On the other hand, Setsuko maintains her optimism and obeys her brother as her mother told her the last time she saw her. She is a light amid despair and the only thing left for Seita.
Grave of the Fireflies is one of the first Japanese animated films to seek realism in depicting Japan during the war (something traditionally considered distasteful), reaching a level of extreme detail in the construction of the scenery. At the same time, it is also a pioneer in using brown outlines for the drawings instead of the traditional black, which gives the film a softer, less aggressive look.
To ensure that the secret world of the children and that of the wartime reality are kept separate, Takahata elaborates on the former with music while maintaining strict silence in the latter, a strategy that he gradually breaks down to indicate that tragedy can no longer be contained and sneaks through the increasingly large cracks in Seita's fantasy. All this favors an atmosphere in which an uncommon realism is integrated with an air of day dreaminess that at times becomes nightmarish.
There is probably no sadder story than Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka). Even if you look for something comparable, you won't find it. By Studio Ghibli’s hand, Isao Takahata managed to show reality in a film that makes you cry your eyes out. This story about two children in World War II is capable of breaking the strongest person. But it is also one of the greatest animated films.
