Grave of the Fireflies

*Reviewed by cherrie

Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka)

Directed by Isao Takahata

Sad. Tragic. Tearjerker. Touching. Realistic. These are the words that crossed my mind when my friend asked me how this film was.

This 1988 anime was about the story of two young children, Seita and Satsuko, and how they dealt with the horrors of World War 2. The story started off in a train station when two roaming policemen found several people scattered throughout the station. At last they came upon a dying young lad, whom they regarded as a “lost soul.” They found a rusted empty fruit box and one of them threw it out carelessly. The fruit box was opened and out came several fireflies.

Seita and Satsuko lost their mother during an air raid by American forces. Their father was a marine. Left with no other guardian, both children were forced to live with their vicious aunt. She often referred to the children as her burden and refused to give them good food. Even when their aunt decided to sell their mother’s kimonos, the aunt still got part of the rice (in exchange of the kimonos). Finally, unable to endure his aunt’s continuous taunts, Seita decided to leave the house with his sister and soon found an isolated shack by a river. During the first few days they lived with total happiness and celebrated their newfound freedom. Soon, Seita became worried about their food supply. He did all sorts of things in exchange for food but with no success. He was reluctant to let his little sister know of his problem. But this became obvious even to little Satsuko when she herself lost her energy and became sick. Here we see how pitiful Satsuko was when she showed how thin she had become and how her whole body was savaged by mosquito bites. The poor 4 year old girl died of malnutrition in her beloved brother’s arms. After cremating his sister, Seita himself lost all his hopes of surviving.

This anime successfully earned the tears of many viewers. The sad fates of the two children were so pitiful. At the same time, the film was so realistic that people, especially those who survived the war, could really relate. I heard that when this was shown to old people in a Home for the Aged, majority of the people there cried even before they reached the middle part of the story. This film was created mainly to convey the anti-war pro-peace message of the United Nations. And this was certainly a success. The way I interpret it, the fruit box and the fireflies symbolized the children’s hopes. Satsuko loved the fireflies because of the gorgeous light they emitted even though the fireflies only had short lifespans. The fruit box initially belonged to Satsuko, who loved candies more than anything. When they finished eating the candies, Seita decided to catch some fireflies, kept them inside the empty fruit box, and let them out of their sleeping net. There, they would think of their dreams and aspiration. In the end, the fruit box was thrown away and the fireflies flew away. For me, it was quite a symbol of lost hope.

When I watched this film, I also cried towards the end. I felt extreme sorrow for the two children. At that time, I thought of the victims of war, not only during World War 2, but in the Iraq-US war as well. Just like ancient times, whenever leaders of states declared war on each other, those who would suffer were none other than the innocent civilians. This film was a real tragedy, and at the same time, a sad reality. I am no fan of anime, but I strongly recommend this film.