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Grave Of The Fireflies [1988]


RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £6.59 (subject to change)

Editorial
Synopsis

A Japanese boy of 14 and his 4 year old sister, attempt to seek refuge from the atrocities of World War II in the small city of Kobe. In post-World War II Japan, a janitor finds a metal sweet container beside a deathly ill boy. The janitor tosses the canister into the night, unwittingly beginning a most unusual tale of survival amid war. Brother and sister Seita and Setsuko, flee their disheveled home and deceased parents to make their bid for a new life. Before American troops begin to occupy their country, the children resort to dwelling in an abandoned bomb shelter in the countryside. Though these siblings later get a sense of safety, they realize necessities such as food and water will not be easy to come by. This stunning and emotional film comes from the studio that made SPIRITED AWAY.


Top Anime Film
Review date: 2008-05-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

Many friends had spoken to me of this film and it was a good year after buying it i decided to watch it. I've never witnessed a sadder film and how Setsuko is portrayed as a cartoon it really makes me feel a live action movie of this could never be done. The characters are too realistic, and the story is beyond amazing. It really makes you think about the value of life and the pain of war. No animated cartoon film can ever top this especially for sadness. I've never been so depressed about a film compared to this... it is truly an exceptional film in everyway.

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Reviews


emotionally prepare yourself before you watch this...
Review date: 2008-05-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

shoot, my throat was hurting after I watched this film and whilst i was watching it too. I have watched many-a studio Ghibli animated movies and I always liked them for various reason but there hasnt been one that has actaully emotionally touched me as this one. Which ever way you look at it, this film will make you feel a certain way gauranteed. I have read a few reviews from people who criticise the film for being too sad etc but to be honest, this animated movie will probably touch you more than a lot of movies out there. This sort of script could only have been inspired by real life events coz I dont think some1 can write a fictional script thats so emotionally entranching as this, its too realistic and too close to home...really shows the effects of war on ALL people, young and old alike.

I would go on but I wont, watch the film and see for yourself but make sure you are emotionally prepared...I fought hard to keep the tears from falling.

You need to see this film.
Review date: 2008-05-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

It's pretty much that simple.
I have only seen the film a couple of times, because it is heart wrenching, but for the same reason it is a masterpiece. I regard this as one of the best war films of all time as it truly displays the kind of horror that millions of families went through in World War II specifically, and what war generally does.
The character's are lovable, the art is perfect and the story is one of the most emotionally involved and thought provoking I have witnessed yet.

gogo see it.

Prepare to be very depressed.
Review date: 2008-04-29 Rating: 4 out of 10

I would like to start this review with a warning. Studio Ghibli films are usually quite light-hearted and enjoyable. This film is anything but enjoyable. In fact, it is incredibly depressing.

Basically, it's about a brother and sister who have to fend for themselves after the death of their mother. It says that on the back of the box so I wouldn't consider it a spoiler. So they stay with a horribly cold and emotionless aunt for a while and then decide to leave and live by themselves, and, well, the result is bad. I won't spoil it for you. If you really do want to watch this film, have something happy to pick you back up afterwards because this will leave you feeling rather miserable, more so than any other film I have seen.

It is not that the film doesn't have it's beauty. There are parts where the animation is nice. The fireflies, the burning buildings etc are all beautiful in a way but the characters are not very well animated at all. They seem somewhat expressionless and never seem to show any emotion in their faces except for when they are actually crying. I suppose Seita might be in shock, which could explain his blank, lifeless expression while people lose their lives around him. Another aspect that really lets it down is the awful English dub. The voice actors seem to have just been given a script and asked to read it in an emotionless and cold manner. This just adds to the horribly cold and sterile nature in which the characters die. You just can't help but feel sorry for Setsuko who is left in the hands of her very incapable brother who seems to idiotically leave her on her own while he ventures out for food. I don't know how old she is supposed to be, but he is supposed to be 14, which you would not guess considering the complete lack of common sense he displays. The enevitable happens and you can't help but wonder if in WWII Japan people really were dying all over the place from starvation as if in medieval times. Were there no homeless shelters, was there no system of aid, did the authorities even care?

I am so surprised that this has such a high score. I decided not to give this a rating of 1 because that is too harsh, and, not to forget the fact that arrogant movie fans who think they know what they are talking about would be very critical of my review. A rating of 2 seems fair as the animation is mediocre, the voice acting is awful and the subject matter is far from 'entertainment'. This is one and a half hours of gloom and morbidity. It would take a completely heartless person to watch this and not be affected. But the question is; do you want a film to make you depressed? Is that the aim of watching a film in the first place. A film is meant to make you think, make you feel something, but when it just makes you feel awful then I really think the makers have missed the point.

Please don't see the Ghibli logo and think 'wow this looks interesting' because honestly, this is not for animé fans, nor fans of movies either. I would almost say that it was cruel to unleash this film onto the public. If you want to see a great Ghibli film try Kiki's Delivery Service of Princess Mononoke. If you want to see a great war film try Barefoot Gen (also grim but in a different way) or perhaps one of the many great Vietnam war films, but just don't watch this.

A Response To The Negative Reviews
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 2 out of 10

No-one looks at good reviews which is why I gave this movie one star, though I rate it 5.

In short, the story focuses on 14-year old Seita and his sister Setsuko, and the movie opens with Seita's death, alone on a train platform, dishevelled and starving. Cut to the beginning. In war-torn Japan, the children lose their mother who is horrifically killed during an air raid. They then go to live with their aunt and there are many happy and beautiful scenes of the children who obviously love each other dearly. After their aunt making it painfully obvious she resents caring for them, the children leave to go and live in an abandoned bomb shelter while trying to live on the money left in their mother's bank account.
Eventually, after a few more poignant and touching scenes, it becomes clear the children are running out of food, and the climax of the film sees Seita returning to the shelter with some food and Setsuko, thin and dirty, lying on the floor, hallucinating, where she dies of starvation as Seita tries to feed her. He then cremates her and puts her ashes in the fruit drop tin she so loved and the movie ends, with the obvious recollection of the beginning of the film, Seita dying alone on a train platform clutching the fruit drop tin.

The negative response for this movie stems from people's apparent dislike of the characters. They say that Setsuko and Seita are annoying, and to an extent I can agree. Though Setsuko is just a young girl, that is all the annoyance that comes from her.

What seems to really grate on people is, Seita knows his sister is malnourished and starving, when he takes her to the doctor it is shown how painfully skinny and ill she is, yet he refuses to go back to his aunt. She would have taken them back in in a heartbeat, but despite knowing this, and despite advice from a farmer who tells him to, he declines, ultimately resulting in his and his sister's deaths. He lets his pride ger the better of him.
All I can say to that is, that is supposed to be a part of the film. It isn't some plotfall that was overlooked, it is an obvious and meaningful part of the film. They're just children. Seita left his aunt in the first place for no reason other than he did not want to get a job and support the family who had taken him in. But this movie is based on a true story, and it is supposed to be an apology from the real-life brother, who survived, to his sister who died from starvation. He felt he could have done more to help her and, anti-war sentiments aside, this is what the movie is supposed to be about.

So people should look past Seita's arrogance and see the film for what it truly is. A stunningly beautiful and absolutely heart-wrenching picture that will completely and utterly shatter you.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Tsutomu Tatsumi
Ayano Shiraishi
Yoshiko Shinohara
J. Robert Spencer
Akemi Yamaguchi

Creators:
Tsutomu Tatsumi (Primary Contributor)
Ayano Shiraishi (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Optimum Releasing
Manufacturer: Optimum Releasing
EAN: 5060034571193
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Dubbed, PAL,
Release date: 2004-08-23
Number of discs: 2
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1996-06-19
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Original Language)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)
Language: Spanish (Original Language)

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