Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) (1988)
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Movie Info
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Cast
as Seita
as Seita
as Setsuko
as Setsuko
as Mother
as Aunt
as Old Man/Doctor
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Critic Reviews for Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka)
All Critics (34) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (1) | DVD (6)
Writer-director Isao Takahata, a frequent collaborator of Miyazaki's at Studio Ghibli, adapted a partly autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, and his handling of the tragic story is masterfully understated.
An emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation.
Isao Takahata's masterpiece is one of the most profound anti-war statements ever brought to cinema
...a well-made and heartfelt drama that's just not as engrossing as it should be.
Such odd hopefulness, flitting around a child, mixed with the overwhelmingly sad, pervades Isao Takahata's film. And all around Seita and Setsuko, nature, in the face of human destruction and tragedy, persists in its beauty.
The stylised images suit the simplicity and gravity of a grim story of love, sacrifice and survival in the face of adult indifference and cruelty.
Audience Reviews for Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka)
This work follows a brother and sister trying to survive in Japan near the end of WW2. It walks a very careful line as it begs sympathy for Japan (through the eyes of innocence, of children) for a war that they initiated. The close relationship between the children is certainly moving and effectively works to engage sympathy, but I couldn't help but wonder for say similar children, say of Nanking for instance. A tough watch.
Super Reviewer
A devastating animation that never holds back in its haunting depiction of the horrors of war and the people whose lives are destroyed by it, and the result simply ranks among one of the most powerful anti-war films to be ever experienced - animated or not.
Super Reviewer
One of the saddest films of all time and one of the greatest anti-war films ever created (even if it wasn't director Isao Takahata's exact intentions but that is a different discussion entirely and is irrelevant to this review). A harrowing tale of innocent children caught up in the terribly indifferent effects of wartime. This is no heroic tale of differing ideologies and factions, this is a very emotionally-taxing tale set in the waning days of WWII that will leave you feeling depressed as a brother and sister are physically and emotionally worn-away by the cold world that deprived them of their parents. Be sure to have plenty of tissues upon viewing this tear-jerking masterpiece. Can't believe this was released together with 'My Neighbor Totoro' (practically the happiest movie ever made). Talk about a bi-polar double-bill.
Super Reviewer
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) Quotes
| Setsuko: | "I've been having diarrhea." |
| Setsuko: | I've been having diarrhea. |
| Setsuko: | And she never woke up again... |
| Seita: | [about Setsuko] She never woke up again. |
| Setsuko: | why must firefiles die so youg |
| Setsuko: | Why must firefiles die so young? |
| Setsuko: | Why must fireflies die so young? |
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