Grave of the Fireflies

Rating:
Summary: Very, very, very, very sad, but a delight to watch
Review: This is one of those movies that probably makes everyone involved in its production feel like they've done something with their lives. A truly amazing piece of filemaking, it tells the tale of a young brother and sister who are orphaned and struggle to survive in wartime Japan. This is by far the saddest movie I've ever seen in my life, and you should make sure you're in the proper mood before watching it. While the story is very powerful, what makes this movie really amazing is the drawing and animation which are beautiful to watch regardless of what's happening. Particularly superb are the background scenes and the way they handle lighting. This movie is truly a great artistic achievement.

Rating:
Summary: War...
Review: A young Japanese boy and his even younger sister are left orphaned by World War II. They live in an old shelter, nearly starving, and learn about love, loss, and...lice. An excellent movie, but if your not wanting a tear jerker, you may not want to watch. Also a bit graphic for young children. END

Rating:
Summary: ...and if you thought the Titanis was sad...
Review: "Grave of the Fireflies" has to be one of the most tragic movies of all time. The story revolves around two young children who must face the atrocities of war. Believe me, you must see this film. It's extremely hard to watch a second time, unless you want to spend most of the film crying...(yes, even boys cry while watching this ^_^ so if you wanna look all buff, don't watch it in front of your friends..hee) It's a film all anime fans must see, and it's a film that everybody on earth should see...because I'm sure theer are hundreds of similar war-stories around the world... END

Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching
Review: Normally, with anime, I can take it or leave it. I was channel surfing during a bout of insomnia and came across "Grave of the Fireflies" on the Bravo channel.

As the father of two little girls, I was astounded at the realistic portrayal of Setsuko in the film. They have captured a living girl in anime, so fantastically that I thought they had to have sketched it out from live action.

The little Setsuko grabs you and holds you through the story, and the dark tragedy won't let you go when it's done. Possibly one the top 20 films I've ever seen. END

Rating:
Summary: Heartwrenching film of war and it's effect on the innocent
Review: The heartwrenching story of a 14 year old boy and his 4 year old sister in Kobe Japan during the last days of WWII and their struggle to survive against starvation. Based on true experiences of the author of the book. After seeing "Saving Private Ryan" it took a week to recover to see it again. I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch this movie again but I'm glad I saw it. I'll never see another child laughing or in pain and not remember this film. Cherish the children...cherish them. END

Rating:
Summary: Based on true experience, so moving and heavy
Review: Directed by Takahata Isao. It is based on a novel by Nosaka Akiyuki. At the war time, a junior-high boy and his little sister became orphan since their mother was killed by air raid. They come to live with unfamiliar relatives but run away and start their own living in a cave nearby. After stock of foods run out, his sister starved to death. While she was still alive, he caught a lot of fireflies to cheer her up in a dark cave, but the next morning all the fireflies fell dead and they made grave of fireflies. The story is based on Nosaka's personal experience, and when Nosaka watch preview by himself, he cried much. I like this film but it's so tragedic to see... END

Rating:
Summary: amazing movie
Review: After seeing it, it's hard to get out of your mind. It's so honest, and well done, it's quite disturbing. I'm afraid to own it, because I don't know if I could bear to see it again, but the best word for it is "remarkable." END

Rating:
Summary: The price of war upon the innocent
Review: 'Grave of the Fireflies' is a visual depiction of the price of war upon the innocent who pay the ultimate price. The time is the firebombing of Kobe, Japan by the Americans during World War II through the eyes of two Japanese children, an older brother and his little sister. The approaching bombers are almost treated as a faceless unnatural disaster brought forth by the Imperialist Japanese government. The children are left to fend for themselves in this heartless landscape, forgotten by a wartime Japanese society bent on war. This is a capivating anime; brutal in honestly, telling in message. END

Rating:
Summary: NO FART SOUNDS!?!
Review: Q.How can you make a decent movie without fart sounds?
A.You can't.

This movie is boring and isn't as moving as the other reviewers would have you believe. It seemed like everybody in Japan was doing fine except these two kids.

I found the little girl to be soo annoying that I was happy when she died thats right I was actually happy. I watched the scene where she is forced fed water melon at lest ten times.

Go ahead click not helpful it only shows that you know that I'm right and you can't handel it

Rating:
Summary: Grave of the Fireflies. A masterpiece of the creative form
Review: Ever since I became a writer somewhere around 1996 or 1997, I've had an intense fascination and desire to create things that touch readers, whether through saddness, fear, or happiness, because I think that when a piece, either written or on screen, touches you emotionally, it leaves a lasting impact on you that can lead to a better understanding of the world around you, and even possibly yourself as well. I think that as a creator, this is the greatest achievement one can reach, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for anyone who accomplishes this very thing which I so eagerly wish to achieve.

"Grave of the Fireflies" is the sad tale, based on the semi-autographical book "Hotaru no Haka" by NOSAKA Akiyuki, which tells of the author's experiences during the aftermath of World War II, in which he lost his little sister to malnutrition, for which he blamed himself.

In "Grave of the Fireflies," 14 year old Seita and his 4 year old sister Setsuko lose their mother after the Allied forces bomb their village. Their father is in the Navy and at sea, and hasn't been heard from in a long while. Without going through the entire plot, suffice it to say that the story is a moving and frightening look back at the lives of two young children who should never have to face such horrors at their tender ages. The tone and mood of this heartwrenching piece is set from the very first scene, when Seita utters the fateful words "September 21st, 1945. That's the day that I died."

Before watching "Grave of the Fireflies" I'd heard that it'd been referred to by many, like movie reviewer Roger Ebert, as one of the greatest war films made, and after watching it, I have to agree. Only a person with the emotional depth of a gnat or the heart of block of wood could watch this film and not feel the emotional power of it. It's the kind of story that lingers in your consciousness long after, and forces you to see the true face of war, the REAL consequences and victims of the violence we seem all too quick to inflict upon each other these days. And the most incredible thing about this movie is its subtleness, its complete lack of political propaganda or any attempt to try to blantantly force a moralistic ideal down the viewers throat. Director Isao Takahata shows supreme trust in the story itself, choosing to use the beautifully illustrated film to portray the tale in all its moving glory.

In Japan this movie was shown in schools as an educational piece. I don't know if this has been done in America, but I think that it should. We need to learn to understand the entire spectrum of war, and on an even more basic level, we just need to teach our children the lessons of empathy and compassion so that when they find themselves in positions in which their decisions impact others, they'll take care to consider the consequences before making those decisions. I also think that every world leader should be forced to sit down and watch this film over and over until its message is ingrained into the nooks and crannies of their brains, because it often seems that compassion and empathy are qualities sadly lacking these days.