I Have Been Deeply Affected

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2003)

I cried watching this film, something I haven't done in years. It's been two days since I saw it and I still can't get it out of my head. My wife and I have talked much more about this film than most others and I have spent some time researching the film online. Never has a film hit me on such a personal level. I am the father of two small children and after seeing this film I went into their rooms while they slept and kissed them and whispered that I love them.
Having done some research on the author and the truth behind the story I realize it has lots of symbolism and literary and cultural references which I as a Westerner cannot understand, so I'll keep my comments on the personal level. The film gets its message across that in war, it is the most vulnerable of society who suffer the most. It troubled me because as an American I don't see the daily struggle for existence in regions torn by war and hunger(Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Balkans, and possibly Iraq to name a few of many conflicts). It also troubled me that my country really doesn't care either. As a father of a 5 year old son and a 2 year old daughter, I want the suffering of Seita and Setsuko to stop and someone to acknowledge and help their emotional pain as well as their hunger. As a parent, I dread the thought of my children being without anyone or being in their situation. As a kid I read lots of WWII books and knew that we had firebombed several Japanese cities and that Navy fighters were strafing small towns. This film made all that history seem very real and present. As an evangelical Christian, it also reinforces for me how cruel and how kind people can be and how lost we truly are.
I read Roger Ebert's review of this film and I agree with him that it is one of the best I have ever seen, because it troubled me deeply on a personal and external level. I can't look at my daughter now and not think of Setsuko and her beauty, sadness, and innocence. See it, but don't see it alone. Remember it's not for children since it's more than a cartoon.