“Grave of the Fireflies” is one of the saddest movies you will ever see, for adults or children, live action or animated, American or foreign.
Sad: a simple word for a simple movie that speaks volumes about the human condition.
I’ve written about how we shield our children from truly unsettling movies. I had these discussions around the terrific Will Smith vehicle “The Pursuit of Happyness,” when my own kids seemed stuck not on the fact that the film was so well done, but on the novel (to them) concept that Hollywood would ask us to watch characters who were so unhappy.
“Grave of the Fireflies” is such a movie, and you’ll have to think about who in your family will benefit from it. But don’t shield the youngest ones just because of the mood — yes, awful things happen, but there are historical moments when these events were commonplace, and we can’t always look away.
“Grave of the Fireflies” uses restrained and ghostly beautiful animation to tell the story of two orphans in Japan at the end of World War II. They quickly lose their home and their mother in a firestorm of Allied bombing. They move in with a shrewish aunt.
Town and countryside both are devastated by the brutality of war, and food is almost nonexistent. Seita and Setsuko forage for calories and live in an overgrown bomb shelter, struggling to take care of each other. Director Isao Takahata, part of the same studio that brings us Hayao Miyazaki’s great films like “My Neigbhor Totoro,” tells their story in a devastatingly straightforward manner.
Parents should be warned: There is death involved. Not gruesome, but because the movie is so emotionally realistic, the effects are powerful. Most kids over age 8 should be ready, and I recommend it for all teenagers who want to discover new styles of animated stories.
“Grave of the Fireflies”
Not rated, with animated scenes of dead people, war devastation and aerial attacks. Best suited for anyone ready for a sad tale well done; all who think animation can only be silly and cute.
