I've never seen its like

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2006)

I just finished watching this movie on TCM. I've heard such good things about this movie, and I was so excited to see that it was going to be on, but then I was SO disappointed that it was dubbed. Though it's difficult to watch gorgeous Japanese animation AND read subtitles, I feel that too much is lost in translation when the film is dubbed. Two perfect examples of that are "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle." I've seen both the Japanese and English versions, and they felt like different movies.
Getting back to "Grave of the Fireflies," it was actually a bit of a disappointment. But I blame Miyazaki for that. Once you've become a connoisseur of his work, nothing else compares. It was a very compelling film, beautifully drawn, but it didn't live up to the hype for me.
Obviously from the rating I gave it, I still loved it. I really appreciated how such grim subject matter was treated with such reverence (2 things that seem like oxymorons when dealing with animated film; I loved how the suffering and the death was portrayed with such incredible realism (so to speak); and I have to say that I shed quite a few tears during this film, from the first sentence to the last. But one of the things that I found so incredibly compelling was the 2 kids' ability to find laughter and fun even when surrounded by the horrors of war. That aspect of it rang more truly for me than any other part. I'm not sure why.
The end was pretty weak when compared with the rest of the film, but then we already know how it ends. I would have done a few things differently to {perhaps} more effectively tear at your heart: *******SPOILERS HERE******* I would have let the watermelon drop off Setsuko's chest when she died; when her spirit was flitting in and out of your vision at the shelter, the one where she was reflected in the water - I would have let her disappear while her reflection remained; and I would have explained how much time passed between Setsuko's death and Seita's, and I would have explained how he ended up where he did. It was a little confusing to know that in the final scenes before we know he died, he had just bought a lot of food, and had withdrawn 3000 yen from the bank.
*********SPOILERS DONE******** I think this movie should be required viewing for elementary and middle school children. I used to think that about "Saving Private Ryan," but that movie is too visceral for the kiddies. Using animation in this way, deadly serious subject matter can be effectively conveyed, while the medium softens the blow a bit for the younger viewers. Perhaps there would be an end to war.
No matter my complaints I still think this was a marvelous movie. I'm not sure if it's one of the top 250 movies of all time, but it's really good, certainly unique, and well worth watching.
Highly recommend. Enjoy.