Well worth watching

Rating: 6/10 (13 August 2008)

Minor spoilers that really don't give much away.
On the surface the film is about war and the effect it has on children. However, at doesn't take long before the viewer realizes that this is only the most superficial meaning of the film. On another level is is about the relationship of two children trying to care for each other in a world that seems to have deserted them. The beauty of their relationship and the importance of that relationship even in death is one of the purest and most innocent portrayals in any film. On another level it is about Japanese pride and the self-defeating inability of the Japanese to admit defeat. For example, Seita, the boy, refuses to give in to those who have insulted him even to the point of putting his and his sister's lives at stake. How similar to the Japanese refusal to surrender near the end of the war, even when there was no hope. They were willing to die to the last civilian. It was only the total shock of the A-bomb that got them to do it. On another level it is about the briefness of life. Like the fireflies, life is brief and beautiful. It is the beauty of life that is important.
It is not a sad film, it can bring you through the emotions, but even from the beginning when the ghosts of the two children are united, we can see that their love has transcended death. Some politically minded people have described this as an anti-war film, a condemnation of American atrocities in WWII, or a film ignoring the atrocities of the Japanese and blaming their situation on the allies. It is none of these things.
If the director is critical of anyone, it is of the Japanese people themselves. He shows the Japanese as fanatically committed to winning the war and supporting their country even when they there was no hope of winning. In contrast to this is their callousness toward the two children who obviously need help. Do anything for the group but ignore the individuals, seems to be their attitude. The children themselves - at least the boy, share this attitude. He is willing to become a thief a liar and even endanger the lives of his own little "country" (himself and his sister), rather than surrender to his relatives. So while there are many anti-war films out there, this is really not one of them - it sharp critical look at the Japanese character.
The film is not without flaws. While the animation is usually quite beautiful, at times the animation is too static. Generally the pace is good, but at times it is slow. At times points are over-emphasized and made more than once. At times you want to say, for example, "Okay, I got it. You don't have to show me again that the sister is dying." When the director over-emphasizes these points, it can be painful.
However, the positive aspects of the film are so strong that they easily make you forget the flaws. The strongest theme of the film is the beauty of the relationship between the two children and the beauty of life even when it is brief. You walk away from the film feeling that life is worth it even in the worst of conditions. Not a small accomplish for any work of art.