Hotaru no haka

   

Last week I watched the animated drama film called "Grave of the Fireflies", with its original title in Japanese "Hotaru no haka" . It was produced by Studio Ghibli in 1988, written and directed by Isao Takahata, well-known director of many popular animated films and television series in Japan. The film is a drama set in Second World War period that not only reveals the reality of life of ordinary citizens during numerous raids (in this case of the Japanese city called Kobe), but also it forces to think about the meaning of life. At the beginning, I would like to encourage everyone to watch "Grave of the Fireflies" even if someone does not like the anime or animated films at all. It really does not matter in this case. What is important is the message of this film. We do not talk about some childish film with happy ending, nor about a brutal and bloody picture of war. It is a beautiful movie that nevertheless the cruel events shows the beauty of love and compassion. The film, despite of the sad tone, brings a lot of emotions and allow us to reflect about our life. In my opinion, "Grave of the Fireflies" is a film that everyone should see, regardless of the film's preferences. The scenes, often left without a comment or with musical accompaniment leave a lot of space to our thoughts. I would like also to mention that this movie is filled with sadness and perhaps for people used to Disney's productions it will seem a little brutal, but for me it is more realistic, than cruel. The movie shows the truth, but I think that the film is first of all a touching one. The plot tells the story of siblings, teenage boy named Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, which after being separated from their mother, during one of the raids, are trying to desperately find her. I will write only this for those whom I encourage to watch this movie. In the next post I will explain the details of the plot and the ending, so all of you - if you are interested in watching "Grave of the Fireflies"  please do not read the second post! :)