A review on Grave of the fireflies

I came down with a cold and wanted to spend my Saturday morning by watching a good movie and saw the revered Grave of the fireflies, a 1988 Studio Ghibli animated film, portrays World War II on the Japanese side in a very remarkably devastating way.  

The film is focused on two siblings, Seita a fourteen-year-old boy who wishes to be in the military like his father and little Setsuko, an innocent four-year-old girl. During the film they struggle with many of the horrible effects of war, loss, starvation, housing and hope. This film does not hold back its punches on the horribly sad effects war on these children. The film makes it evident within the first few moments of its runtime, that this isn’t a regular Studio Ghibli film. 

The film portrays the Americans bombing the Japanese villages in a harrowing way as there is no music, just the dread of the planes roaring into the sky, the aftermath of these attacks are shown in a way that’s upsetting and dark, with destroyed homes and charred corpses for all to see.  

Amidst the chaos and destruction of their village, home and community, Seita tries his best to keep Setsuko in high spirits as they’re separated from their parents and must live with their crabby aunt. 

A recurring theme of the film is the fireflies, they’re delicate and beautiful but don’t live for very long, same with happiness and innocence during the war, it’s fleeting. This film is emotionally brilliant in its execution. It’s a sad but important movie for anyone to watch, especially for westerners as this is from the point of view of Japan in 1945. 

I feel that it’s very important to watch this film, even though it takes place in 1945, war is still very much a tragic reality in our modern world. Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Myanmar and Yemen are living in a reality that is reminiscent of this film. We should recognize horrors like this and be aware of them and support those in those horrid positions. 

Go watch this film if you can and be prepared for lots of emotions, I rate it a 9/10!