WFAC 2008 Trailer -Grave of the Fireflies- 火垂るの墓

This year -Grave of the Fireflies- comes to
the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema - http://www.wfac.ca/ -

Taking place toward the end of World War II in Japan, Grave of the Fireflies is the poignant tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, Seita (清太) and his younger sister Setsuko (節子). The children lose their mother in the firebombing of Kobe, and their father in service to the Imperial Japanese Navy, and as a result they are forced to try to survive amidst widespread famine and the callous indifference of their countrymen (some of whom are their own extended family members). The movie begins in Sannomiya Station, and shows the second main character: Seita, dying from starvation there in rags. A janitor comes and digs through his things, and finds a candy tin, containing Setsuko's ashes. He throws it out, and from there springs the spirit of Setsuko, Seita and a group of fireflies. The two spirits provide narrative throughout the story. The film is, in effect, an extended flashback to Japan, at the end of World War II during the Kobe firebombings. Setsuko and Seita, the two siblings, are left to secure the house and their belongings, allowing their mother, suffering from a heart complaint to proceed to a bomb shelter. They are caught off-guard by a batch of bombs dropped in their vicinity, although they survive unscathed. Their mother, however, is caught in the air raid and dies from burn wounds. Having nowhere else to go, Setsuko and Seita go to live with their aunt, and write letters to their father. On the second day that they stay there, Seita goes out to get the left over supplies which he had buried in the ground to preserve before the bombing which killed their mother. He gives all of it to his aunt, but hides a small tin of fruit drops. This tin of fruit drops later proves a recurrent icon in the film. Following cruelty from their aunt, who gives them barely enough food, insults them and sells their mother's kimonos for rice, which she keeps for herself, Seita and Setsuko finally decide to go and live in an old, abandoned bomb shelter. Gradually, they begin to run out of rice, and Setsuko begins to starve. In desperation, Seita removes all the money from their mother's bank account, when he learns of his father's death. He buys a large quantity of food, and rushes back to the shelter, where he finds Setsuko hallucinating. She is sucking marbles which she believes are fruit drops and offers him 'rice balls' which are really only made out of mud. Finally, she dies of starvation. Seita cremates her, using supplies donated to him by a farmer and leaves her ashes in the fruit tin, which he carries with his father's photograph, until his death. At the end of the film, the spirits of Seita and Setsuko are seen—no longer raggedy and etiolated but healthy and well-dressed—sitting side by side as they look down on the modern-day city of Kobe.

More can be found at http://www.wfac.ca/films/17

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• WFAC
• Waterloo
• Festival
• for
• Animated
• Cinema
• 2008
• RCEHoppe
• Grave
• of
• the
• Fireflies
• animation
• film
• movie
• pelicula
• trailer

[karamazovnew]

One hour after this film ended I started crying and cursing divinity. I wept for hours, for the first time in 16 years. I have no ideea how the movie did that, because it's not TRYING to make you sad like other movies do. Remember that the story is true, the plot was written by the little girl's brother. Watch the movie and you'll understand why this girl is the most beloved child in history. Damn, even this trailer made my jaw hurt.

[spooninjapan]

The writer was a survivor of the Kobe bombings who wrote the book to apologize to his little sister who died during the war. The book and movie are semi-biographical, its not completely true. In fact, I believed his sister died of Typhoid fever, not malnutrition.

Still, this movie is a must see, and it only highlights the brilliance of Miyaki and his craft of movie making. Every time I watch it, I think about it for days. I cry every time I see her in the basket at the end.

[brodftw]

By a long long long long long long long long long long long long way, this is the saddest film I've ever seen.

[miathecrazy24]

we were watching this movie in drama and a few of my classmates were being so rude by making fun of the little girl and some parts of the movie while the others were just crying. those people truly don't understand how sad and true this movie is. thing is, i started crying even more because i realized i would feel the same way if this happened to my sister.

[GenerationWhyMe]

One of my most favourite movies ever.

[isonny2010]

Watched it for the first time when I was 9 and it captivated my mind, now watching it 22 years later, the power still there!

[rfbarrington]

LETS GET THIS MOVIE ENOUGH VOTES TO GO FROM 124 TO 1 ON THE IMDB TOP 250

[SaveMySanctuary]

@spooninjapan In truth I believe the author had two sisters that died; one from sickness, like you said, and the other from malnutrition.

[mansibabbar18]

@spooninjapan setsuka here dies of consistent Diarrhea leading to malnutrition

[mansibabbar18]

@spooninjapan setsuka here dies of consistent DIahorrea leading to malnutrition