Grave of the Fireflies is about a brother and sister who become isolated from family and societal support during the WWII fire bombings of Japan towards the end of the war and before Japan's surrender. Through a series of errors in judgment and significant contributing events, an excruciatingly painful story unfolds. The animation is very effective and beautiful in many scenes, but the real power of Grave of the Fireflies comes from its tragic story.

Grave of the Fireflies is not a political film, and it is not about the machinery and strategic aspects of WWII. This is a very simple story about personal human consequences that result from the war. The author of the book this film is based on has said he wrote the story to try to come to terms with the death of his own younger sister who died during the period depicted in the movie. Revealing the death of the author's sister here is not really a spoiler, as the ending is exposed in the opening scene of the movie.

While watching Grave of the Fireflies it occurred to me that warmongers and smaller scale terrorists alike could perhaps be enlightened enough by its content to reconsider their violent intentions. If such persons could be forced to view this film before submitting to their primal desires for conquest, revenge, and destruction, maybe the world could be saved a lot of unnecessary strife. But then I realized that many such persons are probably already too far gone and I suspect too insensitive to be significantly affected by this story.

This film ate away at me as I spent many days trying to get through it. As I write this review now, I know Grave of the Fireflies is a movie I'll never forget. It is also a movie that is difficult to recommend for everyone.

Watching Grave of the Fireflies is going to bring significant emotional pain to many who choose to view it, and those who are not emotionally capable of being affected by this story will probably find the film far less significant.

I hope the few words I have written here are enough for those who might be drawn to an unusual and special film like this, to help identify Grave of the Fireflies as being a significant event worth experiencing.

For myself, I don't regret viewing Grave of the Fireflies, but I hope I do not come across a film this painful to watch for many more years. I think I will need that much time to recover from this experience.

For Parents
If I had young children, I would not let them watch this movie. I strongly advise watching Grave of the Fireflies first and then deciding if or when your own children might be ready for it.

Savage Japan Misc. Tidbits
Another amazing movie that comes to mind that fits into this category of "significant but difficult to recommend" films is Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves. It stars one of my favorite actresses, Emily Watson. Ms. Watson became one of my favorite actresses, perhaps my most favorite, as a result of her incredible performance in that film.

I saw Breaking the Waves in a theater a decade ago when it was first released. I bought it on DVD out of respect for the production. I have had the movie in my possession for many years, but I've found that I cannot bring myself to watch that film a second time because of its power and ability to induce tremendous emotional pain. Just like Grave of the Fireflies, I don't know if I will ever feel strong enough to watch Breaking the Waves again. I should add that Grave of the Fireflies affected me much more powerfully than Breaking the Waves.

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I decided to add the "extras" disc for Grave of the Fireflies to one of my rental queues, and I am waiting on it now. I may add some comments about it here after viewing. That disc has an interview with the original author of this story that I am curious to hear.

For Japanese Language Students
I have found the language used in Japanese animated films is often very good for Japanese listening comprehension practice. Animated stories typically have family elements intertwined that contribute greatly to the very basic and important vocabulary words in play. The scripts being written to be manageable by younger viewers helps as well.

Grave of the Fireflies was so overwhelming, I chose not to focus on learning Japanese during my viewing of the film. If you are brave enough to watch this movie, I advise taking a break from language progression concerns and simply absorb this story as the rare and powerful experience it is.

I do recommend watching the film with the original Japanese soundtrack and subtitles, even if you are not studying Japanese. I think there is more depth in the experience when you hear the natural and originally intended audio.

Dan Savage
Dan@SavageSnow.com