Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film based on a 1967 short story by Akiyuki Nosaka and written and directed by Isao Takahata. Grave of the Fireflies it not necessarily an anti-war film but rather but is more the story of a brother and sister falling to live an isolated life due to tragedies of war.
The film sets up its unhappy ending right form the begging with the main character being dead showing the horrors of war. It is clear from the start that this story is about the personal tragedies of war the boy and the girl being stand-ins for the director and his sister as the idea of the destruction of youth at the hands of war is a theme throughout the film. With the unceremonious death of the boy at the begging of the film as they throw his corpse away, we are shown he is just another victim in war. This unceremonious nature is also shown when the worker throws his sweet tin into the grass as fireflies dance around showing that their lives were brief and ended in an insignificant way. Fireflies are used in the film as symbols of life and death has a bunch of them ascend into the sky as spirits of the dead with is further emphasised with the spirts of the boy Seita and his sister Setsuko return to each other as spirits. The next shot we see is a train taking them to the afterlife, it is here we get the flashback of how they ended up this was with the fire destroying their town highlighting the horrors of war.
The film drops you in the middle of the action just before the firebomb hits and their lives are changed forever. Sato is portrayed as very headstrong at. Is meant to represent a contemporary Japanese teenager. Setsuko on the other hand represents innocence and youth due to her young age and her not being able to understand what is going on. Throughout the film fireflies are used as symbolism. The symbolise both a beauty and childlike wonder as well as destruction with them being linked to the horrors of war, such as when the fire raining down form the sky as if it is coming from hell. With the shots of the town being destroyed as the planes fly overhead it really does feel like the end. With the imagery of the bodies and the buildings burning due to war, it ultimately shows that in these horrific times society can’t protect its own people. With the firebombs being linked to fireflies its ultimately shows both the destruction of the youth at the hands of war and that they cannot hope to understand or do anything about it. When Setsuko asks Seita if their mum is ok it demonstrates both the corruption of innocence at the hands of war as well as the boy’s blind deamination as although this is ultimately shown to be his undoing it is also compete understandable because he is young and thrusted into a horrible situation.
With the Black Rain being shown from the bombings, it further highlights the idea of devastation at the hands of war as the whole village is destroyed. The way that Seita’s parents are shown really help to understand him as a character. With his dad being a fighter, he is a teenage boy with a lot of pride. However, we are shown that everyone’s lives are being devastated and our characters are just part of a larger story with Seita seeing his mum on the brink of death wrapped in bandages showing the horrors of war. There are brilliant static empty shots throughout the film showing the devastation and haplessness as he must continuously lie to his sister to give her hope. Throughout the film Seita tries to make Setsuko happy and make sure. She’s ok however a bleak shadow is constantly cast over the story as if their deaths are inevitable. This idea of inevitable death and the horror of war is further show with the graphic depiction of their mums’ dead body with is burnt in a very unceremonious way as if she is just another faceless victim, the fireflies again showing fleeting life. We also see this death form the perspective on innocence with Setsuko asking why mum doesn’t need her ring with Seita merely telling her not to lose it she cannot possibly comprehend the large-scale horrors that are happening and therefore to protect her innocence he lies to her. The films showcasing a lot of imagery showing the devastation of World War two, however the film continuously juxtaposes this with childlike elements such as Seita eating candy. This juxtaposition is also shown when they go and stay at here Aunts, and he tells her their mother is dead juxtaposed with his siter running around and being happy.
There are nice little moments of levity throughout the film with the two of them playing. When Seita catches a firefly, it immediately goes out and how quickly death will come to them. The millions of fireflies are likened to people and just how quickly people’s lights can go out during war. There is a constant struggle throughout the film as sown in the air riad scenes where it showcases death and destruction. Throughout the film Seita tries to give Setsuko a normal childhood as shown in the scene where they go to the beach throughout the film there is a childlike innocence as they try and escape the horrors of war. However, this innocence is abruptly stopped when Setsuko discovers a dead body showing that the war is ever present.
In a flashback with the whole family, it further drives home the idea of the loss of innocence. This is further showcased with the ghost of their mother in an idealistic drama sequence which is interpreted by the sound of sirens as they cannot truly escape the war. Seita seems to move on quicker than Setsuko as he must grow up however the girl is still a child. This is further shown were he sells his mother’s clothes showcasing that you can’t cling to the past however Setsuko acts out as due to her age she cannot comprehend the loss of her mother. The aunt turning on them although cruel is understandable as she considers them lazy, and people become tough and cruel during war. There are lots of scenes during the film that truly highlights war such as Setsuko watching a boy the same age as her with a mother and father showcasing how war effects different people in different ways. Seita is forced to grow up in a bad situation, wanting to be an adult and take care of his sister but cannot be due to the horrors all around him, but still tries to portray a childlike innocence with her such as when they are singing in the rain.
Setia is very stubborn he is a proud hot headed Japanese teenager whose father served during World War two so it makes sense he would act that way. Sesuko is very much shown to be a young naive child. She breaks down and is upset by the lack of food licking her leftovers instead of eating the whole sweets again showing that they are in hard times, this is further shown by her drinking sweet, flavoured water as again childlike innocence is portrayed throughout the film. When the aunt gets annoyed its completely understandable given the situation, they are in hard times, and everyone is struggling. This is further represented by a running them throughout the film being the idea of being forced to grow up as their aunt scolds the boy of going to the shelters instead of helping to put out the fire.
Throughout the film there is a childlike wonder which is destroyed by reality. For example, when Seita and Setsuko are singing their aunt yells at them on one hand there are just kids however in this war-torn environment everyone must pull together to survive. Another example of this is when Setsuko fantasises about where new house during a montage. Again, the symbolism of the fireflies is used throughout the film with the kamikaze pilots being likened to the flies a brief fleeting and intense life that could seem to be pointless. When they realise the fireflies Seita talks about watching his dad’s naval fleet therefore is still an element of national pride in the film, but the film seems to ponder where his pride is misplaced. When Seita tries to hug Setsuko, she tells him to go away and as he rolls over to the other side the light from the firefly goes out showing their lives will be ending soon. The next morning Setsuko makes a grave for but say that this grave is for her mum as it what her aunt told her to do. From this Seita breaks down realising that he cannot projector form the hash reality of here lives and like the fireflies their lives and the lives of the people around them will quickly be extinguished, which is shown when she asks why the fireflies like the people must die so soon.
The film then flashes froward with both being dead and kids playing in the shelter showing the inevitability of the story and that you will know that the story will not end happily. Seita’s downfall is ultimately his pride if he had just apologised and asked for help, he would have survived but he didn’t as his pride is ultimately his downfall. The war is very much present throughout the film with the plane attack and them stealing tomatoes to survive. Despite all the tragedy of the film there is a sweetness to it such as them cooking fish or him brushing his sister’s hair. The main turning point of the story is when the sister is feeling sick with spots all over her as they realise the inevitable. Seita tire to get food for his sister by stealing crops but gets caught and beating up although you can understand the farmers anger especially during war time you truly do feel Seita’s desperation in the film. Seita ultimately breaks down realising he can’t do anything to help his sister she tries to confront him but fails as she is a small child and doesn’t fully understand there suffering. In another attack he raids everything eating another person’s food and feeds her siter because she’s to weak. In this firebombing raid he steels things to tell them showing that in these dark times people both suffer and profit from the horrors of war.
Setsuko then collapses from malnutrition. When taking her to the doctors he says that all she needs is food, but in these war-torn times food is a hard commodity as shown by him feeding her shaved ice. When he hears that the Japanese surrendered, he is beside himself. He is a young man with a lot of parotitic pride for himself and his country and he must come to the realisation that it was all for nothing his dad is dead, and his country has been lost and destroyed. As Setsuko’s starvation gets worse, she eats marbles and rock in her delirious state. Setsuko ends up dying from hunger and Seita is forced to sleep next to his dead sister. He ends up burning his sisters in a ritualistic spiritual way putting his sisters’ ashes inside of the sweet tin like an urn.
The film then shows the ghost of the Setsuko playing around as well as the events leading up to her death further emphasising the destruction of the youth at the hands of war. When he burns her sisters body it links into the idea of the tragedies of war and that even in these wartime eras there is still tradition when he burns her body. Again, with her being burned it links into the symbolism of the fireflies and their souls being brief and fleeting. With Seita putting Setsuko’s ashes in the candy container it ultimately symbolises that he will never come back to this place. The film ends with two of them reunites as spirits overlooking a modern Japan.
Grave of the Fireflies is a film about the horrors of war. But more than that it showcases how people cannot live in isolation due to war, it shows that war ultimately destroys society, and that society is what humans need survive and by stripping children of this stay are unable to grow up doomed to a fate of death due to the horrors of war.