Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

HeavenlyCreatures Grave of the fireflies is a heart wrenching inspiring film that may leave you feeling both dead and alive once you have watched it. With a realistic portrayal of the destruction of war and bombing and what it causes and how it tears happy families apart. Grave of the fireflies portrays two beautiful life's torn into one million beautiful pieces. You must watch this film.

paws-06371 I'm not usually one to cry watching a movie, especially in public, but no matter how hard I fought, I couldn't contain myself. I've heard of this movie before, I knew it was really sad, so I thought I knew what I was in for, I was wrong. I assumed, because it was made by studio ghibli, it would be a kids movie, a dark kids movie, but still a kids movie, now I know its not, because if it was, it would follow the don bluth principle "a child can handle anything as long as there's a happy ending" this does not have a happy ending, its not even a bittersweet ending, its a "rip your heart out while you watch this 4 year old get cremated with her doll" ending. I should acknowledge it's not all "tear jerky, heart breaky" there are some really cute and charming moments, like when the brother is chasing his sister around the beach, but that just makes her death harder to watch, and the flashbacks he has of her, after she dies, I couldn't contain myself during that scene. (QUICK RANT) Why are we still doing this, is there no better way to settle disagreements than murdering people. Is that what we are, creatures who have to prove how strong we are by destroying families. This doesn't just affect people who are in the war, it affects their families, their children, and everyone in the nation. How can we be this evolved and still think the best way to settle disagreements is by dropping bombs. Sorry about the rant, that's just where my mind went to after watching this movie, but anyway, I recommend this movie highly, the only reason I didn't give it a 10/10 is because... well, I can only take so much, despite how much I love this movie, I never want to see it again. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go cheer myself up a bit by watching a fun, light-hearted movie, like finding nemo, or spirit , or dead man walking.

jambalulu This is much more than a story about civilian life in the war ravaged japan of 1944. This is a rough, emotional, gut wrenching tear jerking movie about pride, innocence, nationalism, and the nature of mankind. You will see a realistic depiction of what life was like in japan in the climax of WW2, but more importantly, you will see something in this movie that you never get in your standard war movies, a genre of cinema usually full of action packed films with stories of glorious heroism, good prevailing against evil etc.. In this movie you get to see what war time is really like, not from the eyes of soldiers who bravely fight and die to defend their homelands and their ideals, but from the viewpoint of helpless civilians, specifically two innocent children, caught in the middle of one of the worst situations of human history, in a cruel, cold, hopeless reality where countless innocent, defenseless women and children are left to fend for themselves, brutally massacred by Napalm bombardments (by the good guys mind you) in a world where nobody cares about them and nobody ever comes to their aid. And this is why this movie is so important- because it depicts war as what it truly is - a true hell, in all its tragic horror and twisted pointlessness. You will be overwhelmed by the unbelievably sad story line, you WILL cry your eyes out like a child, you will never want to see this movie ever again afterwards, but you will take to heart an extremely important lesson about war that you will never ever forget for as long as you live. If somehow every person on the planet saw this film our world would have been a much better place to live in. Honest 10 stars.

Raven-1969 A testament to the power of stories and animation artistry to move us about the horror and contagion of war and human indifference, and - just as strongly - the value of life.Incendiary bombs rain down on a Japanese city in a later stage of World War II, obliterating the home and town, and killing the mother, of young Seita and his little sister Setsuko. With their father in the navy and faraway, the pair travels with a few scavenged possessions to an aunt's house in the country. The aunt is mean, selfish and manipulative, so Seita and Setsuko - tired of the constant shaming - take their chances alone on the outskirts of town. There with the forest, ocean, meager savings, vegies pilfered from surrounding farmland, a can of fruit drops and the fireflies, they hope to stay positive and survive. The film is poignantly narrated by the ghost of Seita, who is lying in a train station near death at the beginning of the story. We follow the ghost to understand how he reached this point and see what happened to Setsuko. The narration does not spare details about wartime terrors; black rain in the aftermath of widespread incendiary burning, charred bodies and human indifference to suffering. Mercifully uplifting moments are likewise detailed; the strong bond between brother and sister, refuges of happiness and beauty amid the devastation, swimming in the sunlight dappled ocean and a sky full of fireflies. North American animation usually does not delve into such serious subjects, so it is especially hard-hitting. The film is based on a short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, but also the writer/director's own life experience. As a boy Takahata was almost killed during an air raid and fled from home with his sister. Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, died on April 5. Besides its dark aspects, the film inspires us to treasure moments with those we love, appreciate the beautiful things around us, and care for the less fortunate.