I love this movie!

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2011)

First off, I have to say that to me, this movie was absolutely amazing. I cried for a good chunk of the movie nonstop because the characters and their emotions felt so real it was hard to believe they were fictional. I love how Isao Takahata can make the most realistic scenes and breathe life into them, to tie them together into a captivating film.
As you can tell, I love this movie. And when I read some of the negative reviews for it, I felt a little hurt. Don't worry, I'm a big girl so I understand that some people will differ in tastes from me, and its not a big deal. However, I did read some of the negative reviews for the sake of curiosity, and I was a bit put off by what I found. Just to clarify, I'm not attacking anyone, especially if you thought this movie just wasn't to your tastes or that it was boring to you. I just wanted to defend some of the characters and aspects of the movie because I liked them so much.
So first, I know this was a sad movie... But i thought that that made the movie stronger because it stirred such strong emotions in its viewers. And I feel that contrary to some beliefs, the aim of the movie wasn't to make the viewer sad, but simply to empathize with the protagonist, who went through some hardships but always showed his love for his sister and his family. Instead of concentrating on the fact that the movie starts of with his unfortunate death, it's important to notice that he is able to be with his beloved sister soon after, and they remain together forever more.
Also, I know some people couldn't relate to some aspects of the film because of historical context or thoughts on the war. But this movie has very little to do with the war itself. If it did, there would probably be a reference to the nuclear bombings, or other controversial war issues. It was just about 2 kids who faced hard times because of wartime. People in every country had to face this, and Japan was no exception. I won't go any farther into this issue, but I do think that the war just happened to be the setting, and the focus of the movie was on the characters, and how they dealt with their situation.
And I just have to say... To some of you negative reviewers out there, cut Seita some slack! Lots of people ask the question, "Why didn't he just work?" But put yourself in his shoes. He's about 12 years old (14 at MOST), his entire city burned down, and he has to take care of his 5-year-old sister all on his own. No one's around to love him, and no one is around to show him proper guidance. Who knows if there's even a place for him to work?! His school burned to a crisp for sure. What could he really do in that situation? Also, a lot of the time he was "just being lazy," he was actually trying to be a good brother by spending time with his sister. It wasn't like he was selfishly playing video games you know... Also, you can't deny that although it was a naive decision, he was trying to do what was best for his little sister and himself by moving out of his aunt's house. His aunt CLEARLY didn't want him, and his sister looked sad. An elongated camping trip might seem attractive to a 6th grader, and that's probably the type of mindset Seita had. I also don't know if toward the end, working would have helped them. He still had money - about half of the savings his mom had was still in the bank, and he was trying not to use all of it, showing that he was trying to be responsible, although it didn't help him in the end. The whole time, he did what he could! He's just a kid you know... So yeah. Sorry if I ended up attacking anyone... It's just that I so greatly empathized with this character that it made me sad to see other people think he was selfish, and worse, a child abuser. The one thought I had as I watched this movie was, "Man. What a good brother. He loves his sister so much," and I think that was strongly portrayed, and meant to be portrayed, regardless of the bad decisions he may have made along the way.
Overall... I loved this film! I love stories that invoke strong emotions, and this was just that type of movie. The story was real, as were the characters, and I loved almost everything about this movie. I guess I just wanted to defend it a bit >.<. I hope all of you enjoy this movie too!