Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

jon_margetts There's always something so disarming about Ghibli movies. I put it down to the natural pace of storytelling. The studio is uncompromising in its decision to never spell things out for the audience too much. The pride of Seita, for example, and the tragedy in his refusal to return to his Aunt, leading to the demise of Satsuko. There's no big fanfare surrounding this, just a simple narrative achieved through straightforward dialogue and action. It doesn't sugarcoat Seita's decision, and therefore does not justify it. Like many pieces of art, there is no conscious design upon the audience, and that allows one to sympathise with all characters involved. Themes (such as war) are fully three-dimensional: the honour, the spectacle, and the crushing despair following Japan's unconditional surrender are all given equal weighting. A glorious film, all in all.

facebook-64052 This movie is heart-wrenching and beautiful. There are moments when it makes you laugh and smile and others that make you sob uncontrollably. It's such a hard film to watch but it's eye opening and I believe everyone should see it. Truly beautiful movie.

Raven-1969 A testament to the power of stories and animation artistry to move us about the horror and contagion of war and human indifference, and - just as strongly - the value of life.Incendiary bombs rain down on a Japanese city in a later stage of World War II, obliterating the home and town, and killing the mother, of young Seita and his little sister Setsuko. With their father in the navy and faraway, the pair travels with a few scavenged possessions to an aunt's house in the country. The aunt is mean, selfish and manipulative, so Seita and Setsuko - tired of the constant shaming - take their chances alone on the outskirts of town. There with the forest, ocean, meager savings, vegies pilfered from surrounding farmland, a can of fruit drops and the fireflies, they hope to stay positive and survive. The film is poignantly narrated by the ghost of Seita, who is lying in a train station near death at the beginning of the story. We follow the ghost to understand how he reached this point and see what happened to Setsuko. The narration does not spare details about wartime terrors; black rain in the aftermath of widespread incendiary burning, charred bodies and human indifference to suffering. Mercifully uplifting moments are likewise detailed; the strong bond between brother and sister, refuges of happiness and beauty amid the devastation, swimming in the sunlight dappled ocean and a sky full of fireflies. North American animation usually does not delve into such serious subjects, so it is especially hard-hitting. The film is based on a short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, but also the writer/director's own life experience. As a boy Takahata was almost killed during an air raid and fled from home with his sister. Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, died on April 5. Besides its dark aspects, the film inspires us to treasure moments with those we love, appreciate the beautiful things around us, and care for the less fortunate.

leonasker Grave of the fireflies is truly one of the most touching films that i have ever seen and it is such a beautiful movie that shows the relationship between a brother and his younger sister trying to survive in a war-torn Japan during WW2. The story revolves around Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, as we see them trying to survive. If this film proves anything it is that animation is no just suited to tell kids tales of fantasy, sci-fi or cartoon comedy. Japanse animation or "anime" is a style and sometimes you have to look past the style of a movie to appreciate a beautiful and heartbreaking story. But what this movie really excels at is showing the results of war and also the victims of war as we see our two main characters Seita and Setsuko dealing with the situation there in. Grave of the fireflies is one of my favourite films of all time and it brings me to tears every time i watch it.