A review by Jeffrey Overstreet
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Grave of the Fireflies is a treasure, and one of the most haunting war films I have ever seen.
And it’s a cartoon.
This is the story of two children in Kobe, Japan. They are on the run from the terrors of World War 2, dodging Allied napalm bombs as they hurry into shelter.
We are used to seeing the war from the other side and cheering for the Allied Forces. This film does not glorify the Japanese or the Germans, but it puts us in the shoes of the common Japanese workers and their children, who were caught up in the conflicts of powerful nations and who had no choice but to run for their lives as the consequences played out.
Seita, the teenage son of a Japanese naval officer, strives to comfort his young sister Satsuko as relentless bombing raids burn and destroy large sections of their city. Their struggle for food, for survival, and for hope as their neighbors turn more self-centered and hard-hearted makes Fireflies a compelling and devastating story.
The only animated film I think compares to it in tone and impact is, perhaps, Watership Down. Both films go to great lengths to portray the natural world in realistic detail. They pay such close attention to ordinary details of a conversation or a setting that these details take on profound, poetic significance. Both films look at the cruelty of humankind, the insensitivity to the poor and the needy, the way all that we take for granted can so easily disappear, the way people tend to behave like animals when crises strike. And both are enhanced by delicate, subtle, beautiful soundtracks.
You won’t be blown away by clever dialogue or plot twists. Things pretty much go the way you hope they won’t, and that’s no surprise, as we all know how the war ends. And yet, the mastery of light in different environments (a firestorm at night, a firefly in a tent, morning sun on a field and on a beach) is remarkably beautiful. The pacing and frequent, short shots of tools, furniture, plants, and faces efficiently deliver a wealth of information about the place, the time, the “lived-in” quality of this neighborhood.
Such detail does a great service to the audience. It breaks down the assumed walls between “us” and “them”. It will make you feel that you are watching the Allies bomb not the “enemy”, but our neighbors, brothers, and sisters.
This is not Disney. There are no heroes coming to save the day. Sickness is not healed by a miracle. But love remains and offers hope.
Some would call the film sentimental. I don’t think so. Each moment of emotion is earned because we have become intimately acquainted with the characters. They are not undeveloped, but they *are* ordinary. Their conversations don’t feel scripted. They are as plain as real conversations. Their needs and solutions to problems are not intelligent beyond the years of poor, anxious children. They are completely believable.
I often struggle with my suspension of disbelief watching anime. The exaggerated eyes bug me. But these drawings are more human-scale. And they are quite expressive. They seem inspired by the marvelous, whimsical characters of another anime master, Hiyao Miyazake. In fact, if anything about the film bothered me, it was that Satsuko seemed a bit too similar to the tiny tot at the center of My Neighbor Totoro.
Grave of the Fireflies is a beautiful lament, and a moving tribute to the people we rarely consider when we think about World War 2: The common people of Japan who suffered so mightily for the crimes of their leaders. The children who lost everything as the Allies struck. A thousand American movies have exploited the situation, giving us a stereotype of the cold, evil Japanese warrior. Now there is one that represents the many who died and the countless who were sorely wounded, in body and in spirit, at the hands of our own military.
The film in no way denounces the motives of the Allies. In fact, it ignores the politics of the situation almost entirely. After all, the experiences of children rarely encompasses political discourse. All they know are the frightening sounds and sights of the wars that grownups wage. And that is something we must consider carefully as we grownups make decisions about future conflicts. This movie gives us a context in which to consider the impact of those choices we sometimes face. And may God have mercy on our souls.