I Cried In The First Five Minutes Of Grave of the Fireflies... And I've Seen it Before

Ok. No, not this hard-- But I was definitely tearing up. Now, anyone who knows me well is aware that I basically can't get through any (good) movie without watery eyes, so maybe it's not that impressive that this happened. But even if this happens to me in other movies (*cough* 2009's Star Trek *cough*) I still think that that The Grave of the Fireflies does tragedy remarkably, and indeed painfully, well.

It's horrific to see the struggles that our two young heroes, Seita and Setsuko, are repeatedly subjected to. From their perspectives, we get a striking view of what it's like to live in a country at war. The idea is foreign to many modern Americans, as beyond the attack on Pearl Harbor, we have never truly seen a military battle fought on American soil. I once read a review that described The Grave of The Fireflies as "the most powerful anti-war movie of all time" and while I can't say I've seen a great deal of anti-war movies I can say that this one was profoundly effective. From the irresistible cuteness of Setsuko to Seita's painful ignorance about the fate of his father, the writers and artists employed a wide array of tools to tug at the heartstrings. Of these, I feel one of the most successful was the juxtaposition of grave misfortune and efforts at happiness.

Perhaps it isn't clear what I mean by that, so I'll give an example. For me, one of the most saddening scenes in the entire film is when Setsuko and Seita are outside by the gymnastics bars, and Setsuko is crying and asking to see their mother. There's a both painful dramatic irony in at Seita knows the extent of his mother's injury and the unlikeliness of recovery and a sort of awe and respect that a child that young can keep a pain that great hidden on the inside. But the moment where the scene becomes most difficult to watch is when Seita, in a desperate attempt to please his sister, leaps for the bars and begins to do flips, telling Setsuko "Watch me! I'm good at this!" Setsuko doesn't even bother to look, she is so sad, and Seita is so wrapped up in this momentary lunge at joy he doesn't bother to check if she's looking. And yet, though Seita is grasping at happiness, one can only imagine what is going through his mind at that moment. I'm inclined to think that in the back of his mind he realizes childhood is leaving him and Setsuko behind, and is clinging to his trick in an effort to make it stay. He cannot bear the sheer weight of what has happened, and thus is trying to ignore it through diversions. And that, to me, makes it one of the most tragic scenes in the entire film. Juxtaposition is further used a device multiple times throughout the movie, such as when Seita and Setsuko are running for a bomb shelter but stop to retrieve Setsuko's doll, when Seita has a flashback to a day on the beach with his mother, and when the film parallel's Setsuko's death with the return home of some background characters, melding the two scenes together with the same soundtrack. The framing device, in which Seita and Setsuko's ghosts traverse the countryside reliving their pain, is a prime example, as the ghosts are often depicted as happy despite their lot in life.

That said, while the movie was beautifully done, I can't deny there were things that bothered me about. For instance, I have always found it frustrating how Seita could have easily saved the both of them by simply swallowing his pride and returning to their aunt. It has been explained to me, however, that Seita is meant to represent the Japanese government, and that thus his stubbornness is what ultimately kills Setsuko, representing the Japanese people. I find this idea exceedingly interesting, and while I don't feel I am enough of an expert on world history to speak further on the matter, I certainly appreciate how "deeply embedded in Japanese history and culture" (Napier 26) the analogy is.

I've heard some complain the movie is boring, but I've always loved the slow, bucolic sort of movie, one that can hold attention (or at least my attention XD) without feeling the need to get load or abrasive. I love it when almost nothing happens, but the writers can hold you on the basis of the characters alone. In that regard, this movie was a tremendous success.

I think we can all agree that their aunt needed to be slapped a couple times tho...

UP NEXT: AKIRA

UNLIKE THESE LAST TWO MOVIES I'VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE

SO PREPARE FOR LOTS OF RAMBLING

EVEN THOUGH THESE LAST TWO POSTS HAVE BEEN KINDA RAMBLY ANYWAY

THIS NEXT ONE MIGHT BE WORSE

YUP