Unique combination of Italian neorealism and Yasujiro Ozu's Japanese drama for probably the best animation film out there

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2005)

I heard about this movie from Roger Ebert's list of great movies, so I decided to give it a try. Anime is a recent interest of mine, and I was impressed with "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke", but only a faint warning from others about this movie was the only preparation I had for the ninety-some minutes of this film. This film was nothing like "Spirited Away" or "Princess Mononoke". For an animation film, "Grave of the Fireflies" surprised me in the style it was portrayed. The atmosphere of this movie was seemingly like the Italian neorealist films of the 1950s, like De Sica's "Umberto D.", but it also had the precision and care of what was portrayed on the screen like Yasujiro Ozu and his "Tokyo Story", "Floating Weeds", and his other masterpieces.
Like De Sica and other Italian neorealist directors, "Grave of the Fireflies" simply portrays life as it truly is; in this movie it was the aftermath of the World War II bombings on a Japanese town. Nothing is held back, but nothing is shoved into your face and fabricated like some popular Vietnam War movies. Like Japanese directors like Ozu, there is a great care in how this story is portrayed. Pillow shots are utilized greatly in this movie; that means that a scene will be played out, and then there will be static shots of scenery (not necessarily have to be stunningly beautiful), but it gives the audience some time to contemplate on what happened. For only a ninety-minute film, "Greve of the Fireflies" is a very well-developed movie with only what is essential, with great and peaceful pillow shots for contemplation and meditation. Also like Ozu especially, this movie utilizes many still shots, especially in key scenes where the emotions are at its unprecedented peaks for an animation film. Rarely will the background frames move, except in displaying panoramic views. And also like Ozu, this movie keeps the focus on family struggles, always a favorite topic for Yasujiro Ozu. It is about a teenager boy and his younger sister trying to cope with the aftermath of a bombing on their town. That is all I will say about the plot of this film.
The combination of this Italian neorealism and Yasujiro Ozu's camera-like ethics make this film a great film to watch. But because this film is an animated film, the influential combinations can take almost anybody by surprise. Animation can simplify matters in the mise-en-scene to amplify the essential and thus creating more emotion out of this film. But there is so much care in this film that it deserves its respect as probably one of the best movies (real or animated) ever. Since it is portrayed in an everyday-type feeling, the emotions running are powerful. This is definitely the best animation film ever, and can be on the list of the top twenty most powerful films.