Not Enough Back Story = Indifference

Rating: 4/10 (20 April 2015)

Having watched other Studio Ghibli films, I had high expectations going into Grave of the Fireflies. However, I must say that I was left feeling exactly the same as I did before it began. While countless other viewers are saying that it was "one of the most emotional and powerful movies of all time", I can't help but disagree.
The biggest reason for my indifference about the characters was the lack of a back story- the time in most dramatic movies when the director shows how happy and care-free life used to be. As viewers, we don't obtain a good sense of what life was like for the children before the war. In fact, most of the movie was just Seita and his younger sister looking for food and shelter with strange music playing in the background. There might be 10 minutes or less of dialogue in the whole hour and a half I wasted watching the movie! Who is Seita? What is he like? What does he like to do? When did his father leave? Was he a good father? What was it like for the family once he left for the war? None of this is answered. Therefore, it's hard for me to feel anything for them when they die. You may be thinking that this seems quite heartless of me but I must say that I am often quite emotional when it comes to dramatic movies. Titanic, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Bridge to Terabithia are enough to leave me with tears running down my face. Grave of the Fireflies was NOT powerful enough to do this. It had the potential to, but not enough back story was present to make you feel sad for the characters.