Stunning.

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2013)

I was putting off this film for the right moment given that everyone was telling me how sad it was and those people were absolutely correct. Part of the reason for this was due to the film being so understated and this just adds to its beauty. The story is simple and by no means is that a bad thing, if it were a grandiose one it would have much less of an impact on us as viewers.
A criticism charged at this film is that it is one sided and this is a fair comment except... What more do you expect? The film was a display of what young Japanese people felt at the time of the war. Which is refreshing from the usual war time films. That isn't a criticism of classic war films, it is merely a comparison.
Finally, the art work for the film - as usual for Ghibli Studios - is absolutely beautiful.