Cast:
Tsutomu Tatsumi (Seita Yokokaw), Ayano Shiraishi (Setsuko Yokokawa), Yoshiko Shinohara (Mrs. Yokokawa), Akemi Yamaguchi (Aunt), and Kazumi Nozaki (Cousin) Written and Directed by Isao Takahata.
Review:
"I see infinite potential for animation. I don’t know if that is a wonderful thing or not. All of the arts, whether they be music, drama, or painting, have infinite potential. But no one knows whether this unlimited potential can be a force for creating many works that can offer delight to people."
The easiest statement for animated films is the one that I find has to be said over and over again until it is made clear: animation is for everyone, not just for kids. You don't really need to read a review of a Studio Ghibli film to have this point made, but I will beat the drum of animated films being something that can work for everyone until the day I die, especially for classic films like this one. This was the first film that Isao Takahata directed for the studio. He was born in Ise, Japan in 1935; he would see (and survive) the air raid on Okayama City when he was nine years old. He studied at the University of Tokyo and graduated in 1959 with a degree in French literature, although he developed an interest in animation by this time when watching a French film called "Le Rot et l'Oiseau". He soon took the entrance exam at Toei Animation and got a job as an assistant director. Years passed with a couple of jobs before his chance to direct with The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). Incidentally, one of the animators that worked on the film was Hayao Miyazaki. Takahata and Miyazaki would become friends due to their shared experiences of demanding work and wanting to create a "world of reality and realistic depictions in all our works". The film was not a success, which led to Toei demoting him for a time. Takahata worked in television for a number of years, before he returned to features with Jarinko Chie (1981) and Gauche the Cellist (1982). Takahata would direct three further films with the studio: Only Yesterday (1991), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) before his death in 2018.
The film is based on the 1967 short story of the same name, as written by Akiyuki Nosaka. He had written the work based on the experiences his family had during the firebombing of Kobe, Japan on March 16-17, 1945, during World War II (the city was both a key port for the country and also filled with houses built with wood), where he saw his sister die from malnutrition. There were offers to adapt the story in live-action, but Nosaka had his doubts that a film could recreate the scorched earth for the backdrop of the story along with having child actors that could convincingly portray the characters. He was actually surprised when he heard of an offer to make the film in animation (being quoted as assuming they were "a simple pleasure viewing for summer vacations") but seeing storyboards of the landscapes made him a believer to the point where he felt it could not be done otherwise in live action (incidentally, live-action adaptations followed in 2005 and 2008). I should mention that this film was released as part of a double bill with My Neighbor Totoro, which ended up as the more noted name in the double-bill. Takahata planned to do a follow-up film with "Border 1939", one that would touch on similar themes like this film but set at the time of Imperial Japan invading continental Asia (such as China) that would've been a stronger focus on the dangers of Japanese nationalism. An outline survives, but the film never came into production. Takahata stated numerous times that the film was not an anti-war film, although I'm sure that anyone watching a film set during the last throes of war would have a bit of justification to think that. At any rate, what we have here is Takahata's attempt to show the viewer the dangers of complacency and ignorance for the horrors of the past (namely by showing how people react in crisis rather than saying the morality of the war). Takahata liked the unique characteristics of Seita and thus wanted to make a film where the audience could not have the mindset, he felt was present in wartime stories of the noble and more able character. In that sense, he wanted to show what happens when one isolates from society. Of course, the decision presented in the film about setting on one's own differs based on one's culture, so it makes for an interesting topic of discussion when it comes to pride. The fact that the actors in the film were a group of unknowns that have this film to shine in makes the film quite a unique part of the discussion for underappreciated gems and the legacy that comes with said films, with Tatsumi and Shiraishi being the ideal pairing to play siblings wracked in crisis while Yamaguchi makes a suitable adult figure in representing how war affects all to their rawest form.
This is the kind of movie where you will see brilliant animation, such as the release of fireflies in a cave to help illuminate a certain spot. The brown outlining for a softer look (as opposed to the usual black, which contrasts better and is used in certain spots for this film) makes the film a constant curiosity. As such, the film captures both the adventures of the two main characters and the scorched earth that they are walking on with great haunting clarity. No matter how much one knows how the film ends (or where it will go as you can see from its opening sequence), it still ends up being an arresting experience of 89 minutes. It asks for self-reflection more than just being a movie for grim tears. Takahata's aim for the audience to not have an inferiority complex when seeing these human beings in war-torn Japan clearly has paid off with how effective his film turned out in all of its stages from start to finish. As a whole, Grave of the Fireflies is a distinct feature worthy of being viewed alongside the rest of works from Studio Ghibli, one with formidable emotional depth that is more than just a sad movie: it is a movie for all shapes and sizes to experience and learn from.
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
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