Grave of the Fireflie's

Grave of the Firefly's is (quite an overlooked..) animation by Studio Ghibli, directed by Isao Takahata.

I found this film beautiful in both narrative and aesthetics. Grave of the Firefly's is an animation not aimed at the younger audience, this is quite unusual to see in animation because of it's stereotypical innocent, child-like qualities. The reason for this is because of the harrowing and upsetting scenes the animation tackles as it follows 2 siblings and their heart-wrenching fight for survival in Japan at the height of WW2. With this serious issue, comes the communication of how much destruction Japan suffered during WW2.

The film hooks you emotionally. We bond to the characters, we see them develop, we become a part of their lives. This is all enhanced through brilliant character development, we get to know their personalities and become instantly aware when everything is going wrong... From the start we are shown their ghosts, we already suspect how it is going to end, we are already shown a teaser of how emotional this film is going to be. Their ghost selves are depicted in low lighting with a red light to show the bloodshed and destruction that was unjustly spread.

The symbolism of the fireflies is most profound. The fireflies represent the lost souls, how the innocent civilians that lost their lives in the war were like nothing but mere insects to the opposition. (Pest control) And the glowing light a reflection of the firebombs that terrorised them. At one part of the film, Setsuko even makes a mini grave for the fireflies, a poignant and symbolic scene, how the film gets its name. Setsuko cares for the fireflies and the fireflies even become a source of light for them, a beacon of hope to survive, like the lost souls are guiding them in quite a spiritual way. 

One part that stood out to me the most was the Setsuko montage. Showing her being her, her mannerisms and beautiful personality to sad music, really set my emotions high. Whats the most thought-provoking saddening thing is that this actually happened, children like this died in circumstances like this. We aren't really reminded of that fact with it being an animation as animation distances itself from reality somewhat. 

Grave of the Fireflies is an animation you will not forget in a hurry, it has its heart-wrenching hooks embedded in your mind, so much so, It doesn't need a re-watch because it will stay with you for so long. Beautiful.