Unforgettable

Rating: 10/10 (22 February 2011)

The story of survival of two Japanese brothers, little Satsuko, a 4y.o. girl, and her brother Saita, a 14y.o. boy, at the end of the Second World War in Japan, based on the semi-biographical novel of Akiyuki Nosaka.
Grave of the Fireflies is one of the saddest stories and movies I have ever seen. It puts face to the the children in any war, those who lose everything and have left with nothing, those too easily forgotten and so easily neglected. What makes the movie sad is the verisimilitude of the story, that something like that happened and is happening any time that there is a war.
The animation is marvelous, colorful, attentive to the detail, scenic and intimate, with a lyricism that only Ghiblin Studies are able to create. The drawing of the Japanese countryside is simply superb, and the same can be said of the drawing of the city environments and destruction; the best from Ghiblin to me. The atmosphere is great. The colors a little more saturated than usual from Ghiblin studio, and really precious. The music by Michio Mamiya is extremely subtle and beautiful, perfect for the story. The characters of the two brothers are wonderfully drawn and performed by the Japanese actors. Some of the intimate scenes of the two brothers are really magical, especially the ones involving the fireflies that give tittle to the movie.
What is great about this movie is that, very soon, you forget that you are watching animation, as the story is so strong, captivating and engaging, that those drawn characters become real as you and me.
A classic animation movie difficult to forget, soulful and marvelous in every possible way.
The best animation film I have ever seen and one of the best ever made. No doubt. No perhaps.