Now I wanted to review this film, especially because of the comparison of the films that we will watch (Princess Mononoke and Akira), but also I wanted to look at this in a different light then just analysis. Keeping in mind that this is my second or third time watching this film and also I have multiple little sisters, so my review/analysis might perhaps be a little bias? So here we go!
The story of Grave, while the public might seem it as an "anti-war" message, exemplified to me the story of survival and family in a more realistic theme. By that, I mean most survival stories go along with the idea of zombies, disease, aliens, and etc. The disaster in this film in actually humans. Even in the title disaster is implied with the humans, fireflies in Japan symbolize the souls of dead soldiers in war. Susan Napier also said that "Anime texts also explore (sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly) the meaning of history in contemporary society.... Like Grave of the Fireflies, set in the waning days of World War II, implicitly suggest larger issues, including the political nature of historical memory." (Pg. 12) While the historical and cultural references are not embedded in me, I still think it is a good film for Westerners to see, especially for people who enjoy survival stories. I think that this film did the survival story in a very depressing, but also enjoyable way.
When I review animated films, I always ask: "Why is this animated?" This film as I see most definitely needs to be animated. A live action version of the characters Seita and Setsuko would not be enjoyable and would distract the purpose of the film. Setsuko, while I do love her character, is actually somewhat annoying throughout the film. This annoyance, however, is the annoyance of a child; You love a child however there are times when they want something and they complain and are annoying about it. Setsuko's annoyance is justified by her needs for food and water and also the way the artists drew her. A live action of Setsuko would be understandable for her needs, but it would be annoying to watch her perform. It is like a crying baby at a dinner and you are just annoyed at them for even bringing the baby to the dinner and bothering your nice dinner. Seita, however, does not have the child annoyance, to me he has a love for his sister that could not even be emotionally felt by a live action actor around that age. Seita's love for Setsuko, yes is shown by his actions to make sure that she lives well (I mean hell even though he didn't go work in factories or anything, he made sure that Setsuko had a happy life after their mom died). But his facial expressions and his mental stress breakdowns to me was more convincing then any live action actor crying.
With all of these in mind, the story of this film was very strong. Personally, I have also experienced the lost of a mother, and I thought the first obstacle for these characters worked very well. My only issue with this transition is the reaction of Seita towards his loss. I understand he wants to be emotionally detached in order to maintain his sister's facade of a happy life and I know he reacts much better when Setsuko tells him that she knows their mother is dead. But come on Seita... You could have cried and be emotionally distraught for a couple of scenes and then realize that you are the one to take care of Setsuko. Also, when Setsuko started crying after Seita lies to her that they would see their mom later, Seita tries to comfort her by trying to show off his workout. I really did not like this part the first time, and I still do not like this the second or third time. It just seems very out of place for such an emotional scene. Other than this, the story for me did not have any other issues. I enjoyed the way that the obstacles were shown and how Seita and Setsuko tried/failed to fix the obstacle.
The only thing that bothers me about screen direction is something that I find continuous in Ghilbi's films, timing of shots. There are some shots, especially in the beginnings and ends of shots that are too long for me. In this film, it is the wide shot of the abandoned shelters and the water. This shot should have lasted perhaps like 2-3 seconds while it lasted about 7 seconds. Now understandably the production might be off for like 4 seconds so they extend some of the shots. Also in the beginning raids, there was a scene where the fire from the raids were still in the background and there were character movements in the foreground. I know these are very little details, but were some of the things that I usually notice in animes and Ghilbi films. Of course this does not ruin the film for me, it just make me break my train (CHOO CHOO) of thought from the movie.
This image shows my favorite part of the film, the light within the dark or the fallen soldiers' souls, showing the happiness in a seriously depressing and a dark time. This is just such a powerful scene within an already powerful film. This also explains my reaction whenever someone talks about this film. I love this film very much, not just because of the powerful messages and such lovable characters, but it also does something that films in general need to do for their audience: appeal. I relate to Seita very well and I wanted to him succeed so much, even though I know he wouldn't. Anytime I watch his story again, I always root for him to be able to sustain a thing that I've always wanted: happiness in depression.
Thanks for reading! If you would like to discuss my ideas further you can either comment here or talk to me in person!
See You Space Cowboy
Hey Greg,
ReplyDeleteI can't speak personally about such an experience, but I thought Seita's reaction to his mother's death was very well handled. Seita tries his best to put on a brave face for his sister, and it's when Setsuko reveals she knows her mother is dead that he finally breaks down.
I also think that one of your criticisms, the strange exercise scene, is meant to address another one of them, the lack of emotional response. Seita's strange insistence on clambering over the pull-up bars is his way of letting out the anguish building up inside him without Setsuko realizing. It is also, partially, a way of avoiding eye contact with his sister during this excruciating moment.
I will concede to your comment. Looking at it further that does make more sense to me, however at the time it just seemed to me a very strange way to cope? It seemed random and to me it felt as if they wanted to show exactly what you were saying and they didn't know how to express Seita's emotional response? That's what I got out of it.
DeleteThis was the last movie for me from Studio ghibli movies, I was shocked, overwhelmed by the story and presentation.... I almost cried out a pond ... Every person should see this movie and make a strong protest against any kind of war around the world....
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