I like to think that I am a guy who gets emotionally invested in films. I do get sucked in to the stories, the action, the excitement, the scares. I do emotionally respond to films, and this is why I love them so much. However, no film has ever brought me to tears. I know several people who are easily moved to tears by films, but I am the complete opposite and I am not too sure as to why. In fact, as I sit here and look back on my film watching life I can only recall one film that almost had me crying, and that film is Schindler's List (1993). This is probably not that surprising to those who have seen it, but I find it surprising that it is the only film I've ever welled up at. Well, that was until I saw Grave of the Fireflies (1988). This film broke me emotionally, and the only thing that stopped the tears from flowing was my stubborn pride at having never cried at a film before, but I came very, very close. The film opens showing a malnourished boy in a train station being scolded by passers-by. The first words of a dialogue we here out of this boy, who is our main character, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi), are "September 21, 1945... That was the night I died" and what we are seeing in this opening scene are the final moments of his life. As he dies his ghost appears and joins the ghost of a young girl who turns out to be his sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi). These two ghosts then get onto a train which takes them through the events that led them both to this point including the firebombing of their home, the death of their mother, living with horrible relatives and fending for themselves.
Don't let the animation style fool you, this film is not the cheery wartime adventure you may expect. This film is as emotionally moving and devastating as any war film I have seen, and it does so without showing to much of the gritty violent side of war. That isn't to say that it isn't graphic at times because by god it is, especially with the death of Seita and Setsuko's mother, who is shown bandaged head to toe being eaten by maggots before her body is thrown on top of a pile of other bodies in a mass grave. But it is not in these graphic scenes where the film packs its true punch, but in the scenes of joy that contrast them. The whole film shows Seita attempting to save his sister from the horrors of war and doing a pretty good job of it and it is in the scenes where he and Setsuko are living their childhoods and are seemingly oblivious to the war raging around them where the film becomes jovial and joyous, which makes the scenes where reality comes crashing back even more like a punch square in the face. I have not been as emotionally moved by a film in a long time as I was watching this one, and I think that is a testament to the superb writing which makes the film as good as any war film I've seen, despite it being animated.
Speaking of the film's animation, as is to be expected from Studio Ghibli, it is absolutely beautifully done. The film is as visually moving as it is emotionally, and after how I have just described how emotional the film is that should give you some indication of how stunning the film is. Although it is a film that does not have any magical creatures or folkloric creations and is grounded very much in reality, it still manages to create an atmosphere of childish wonder and magic. This is especially true with the scenes where Seita and Setsuko catch and play with fireflies. These scenes are beautifully animated and are visually wonderful to look, with particular exception going to the scene where they catch fireflies and let them loose within a bug net. This creates are scene where their underground home has a simulated night sky and it is both beautiful and moving. But as with everything in this movie, the scene ends with a symbolic image that brings us crashing back to the depressing future of these characters, with a shot of a fireflies whose light extinguishes before it falls down dead. Director Isao Takahata shows image along these lines several time throughout this film and each time they are done brilliantly in order to keep the emotions running high. The best example of his masterful direction is in one of the film’s final scenes where he manages to create a scene that is beautiful to look and beautifully devastating all at the same time, where we see the ghost of Setsuko playing by the underground bunker they were living in, a bunker that was in the grounds of a western style mansion, a symbolic gesture by the director which adds even more weight to an already heavy film.
This film in my eyes is an absolute masterpiece and the best I have seen from Studio Ghibli. Emotionally gripping, devastating and uplifting all at the same time, whilst also being one of the best animated and visually beautiful animations I have ever seen. I have not had a reaction as strong to a film in a very long time. I watched the film two days ago now and I have barely had a moment where I have not thought about it, and I don't think I will stop thinking about it anytime soon. Rarer then me having a reaction as strong as this to a film is me considering putting a film into my top ten of all time, a top ten that is locker up very, very tight and a top ten that I had thought would be an almost impossible nut to crack. Grave of the Fireflies might just have done it. I can't be certain just yet, but at this moment in time it is making a very strong case to do so.