Grave of the Fireflies
Hotaru no haka
Japan
1988
89 Min
Color
1.85:1
Japanese
Synopsis
In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children’s lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of the true tragedy of war and innocence lost, not only of the abandoned young, but of an entire nation. —Central Park Media
Director
Isao Takahata
Isao Takahata (born October 29, 1935) is one of the most famous directors of anime, or Japanese animated films.
Born in Ujiyamada (now Ise), Mie prefecture, Japan, he is a long-term colleague of Miyazaki Hayao and co-head at Studio Ghibli. His four animated films at Studio Ghibli have spanned a remarkable range of genres: war-film (Grave of the Fireflies), romantic drama (Only Yesterday), comedy (My Neighbors the Yamadas) and ecological adventure (Pom-Poko). Of these Grave of the Fireflies, in particular, is widely considered among the greatest animated films ever made.
Graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959, Takahata joined the newly-created Toei Douga animation company where a short time later he met Miyazaki, and also directed his first feature film Horus: Prince of the Sun. Ostracized within the company after the financial failure of the film (despite its artistic success), he and Miyazaki left in order to work together, and collaborated on many other films… read more
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MGeo
30Jan12
Despite being anime, this movie is the most emotionally investing and moving of war film that I've ever seen. No movie has ever truly made me cry harder until I saw this. The unflinchingly true depiction of war from the perspective of the innocents has never been more pronounced in film until this film. As hard as it is to watch, everyone in the world must see it. What it has to say is too important to ignore.
chanandre
28Dec11
Still have not seen a film that is more sad than this one. It's almost unbearable. Too sad to see with dry eyes. I cried buckets worth of salty tears. Should be shown to War Generals and Governments all around the world. If not for unnecessary pain and suffering at least for small children, you aggressive people. At least for children. We're all children. Don't kill us off. This is an absolute masterpiece. Hats off.
Sarah J. Bean and Yuki Aditya like this
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Grave of the Fireflies: Painful, Thought-Provoking, Meditative, Original
By John on November 11, 2009
Animation has an ethereal power, a minimalism and essence that is unique in conveying human emotion that many film-goers deny. But when you ask anyone who has shed tears when they saw the death of… read review
Untitled
By Todd Kushigemachi on May 25, 2009
(Originally written July 11, 2008)
The tragedy of this movie is summarized by the title of the film, which refers to a young girl lamenting how fireflies have to die so quickly. However, this… read review
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