Beautiful, amazing, stunning

Rating: 10/10 (5 December 2011)

Set during WWII in Japan, 14-year-old Seika is the only one to take care of his 5-year-old sister, Setsuko, after their mother is killed in an aerial firebombing of their village, that also destroys their home. Their father is off fighting, and they have to go to live with their aunt, who scolds them at an increasing rate and level. After a while, they move out, into a shelter. This follows their struggle to survive, on dwindling food supplies and sudden plane raids. In the way of a classic tragedy, this hints at its inevitable conclusion from the very beginning. This doesn't make it "predictable", as the point is not to surprise; it renders it even more powerful, as we find ourselves losing the battle in trying to deceive ourselves of where it is headed. I have not read the novel and can draw no comparisons. Like the other Studio Ghibli pictures, this feels very true to life and natural. The astonishing attention to detail, the immense realism, the tiny little human aspects, these have you forgetting that you're not watching live-action(the mood is spot-on, and you're transported directly into the situation). And the animation is impeccable. This is deeply moving and engaging(and it is more focused on this than the plot). If it does not tug at your heartstrings, you are officially a robot. At the same time, it isn't manipulative, and your sympathy and empathy are awoken in an honest manner. The sound design is excellent(and it uses the absence thereof, silence, to fantastic effect), backing up the visuals in recreating something very close to the real world. While there is stylization, and not everything in this is what it appears, it doesn't betray this objective of credibility. This builds and maintains atmosphere extremely well. Whether it's the siblings having trouble getting by, them playing together, an explosive assault from above, it comes across as genuine. The pacing is perfect. At about 90 minutes, this is not in a rush, and it lets you absorb the individual parts of what's going on. The acting is phenomenal. I base this on the original version, not a dubbed one. There is a bit of highly disturbing, bloody, violent, gory and brutal content in this. The DVD comes with a feature-length track of alternate angle storyboards(and another 10 and a half minutes of extra ones), two interesting interviews(one with the writer/director that comes in at 17 and a half minutes, the other with film critic Roger Ebert, that has a running time of 12 minutes), an informational 12 and a half minute documentary ("Historical Perspective"), a 6 and a half minute Japanese release promo, a 4 and a half minute DVNR featurette, a 3 minute art gallery, one US trailer and one Japanese(both 2 minutes). I recommend this to fans of Anime and drama. 10/10