Tragic yet Beautiful

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2014)

I will start by saying that at the time of writing this review, I am 18 years old. I had never cried whilst watching a movie. I was borderline teary watching the Australian film "Red Dog", and absolutely crying on the inside during "Magnolia" and "Requiem for a Dream"; but never had a film completely moved me to emotionally produce tears. Until I watched Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies". Never has a film conveyed so much sorrow, tragedy and depression using the form of animation. It's deeply emotional on one hand, but undoubtedly beautiful on the other. Call it flawed, call it manipulative, call it whatever you want; but I do feel that if you express a great deal of negativity towards this film, then you have completely missed the rewarding experience.
The film is set during the World War II period and centres on the story of a boy named Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his much younger sister Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi). Setsuko is naïve and fragile, and Seita's primary focus is on keeping the two of them alive during this time of tragedy. They want to be happy, but during a time like this, it's near on impossible to do so. He is 14, she is 4. The sense of hopelessness is drawn up early on. The opening sequence shows our young hero dying of starvation in a train station. The rest of the world moves along as he and others lay against poles waiting for the death to reach them. It's a devastating sight. No this is not the teary part. Watch the film as it cuts back to the beginning of their story. to see the power that will come over you and have you reaching for the tissues.
Michio Mamiya's score is enough to convey the harrowing atmosphere. It elevates at times, matched with light-scaled animation, but will drop faster than a bomb into the deep pits of despair as we follow these two children on their quest to stay alive. Prepare to be shaken. The children are moved around, never wholly welcome anywhere, Seita is caught stealing to survive, hope is seemingly out-of-reach. But do not be put off by what I've said. No one who is interested in the power of cinema should dare miss it. It's a Masterpiece. One of the greatest war films and animated films ever made. Period.