Foreign Film Critique

1. Title of Film

The title is Grave of the Fireflies in English. The Japanese title, though, is Hotaru no Haka.

2. Year of Release

The movie was released in 1988 in Japan and 1993 in America.

3. Language of Original Film

The original language of the movie is Japanese.

4. Director

The director is Isao Takahata.

5. Actors

Tsutoma Tatsumi is the brother Seita, Ayano Shiraishi is the little sister Setsuko, Yoshiko Shinohara is their mother, and Akemi Yamaguchi is their aunt. (Based on IMDB.com)

6. Give a Brief Plot Summary

The movie is about Seita who is approximately 14 years old and his little sister Setsuko who is maybe 4 or 5 years old in 1945 during World War II (during American air raids). It starts with Seita burying non-expirable foods and Setsuko being dressed by their mother as quickly as possible before a possible air raid. Their mother tells Seita to hurry and leaves Setsuko in his care while she went to the bomb shelter. The two of them did not make it to the shelter, unlike their mother who died in the shelter because of the raid. So the two of them left to live with their aunt. At first everything was fine, but then she started treating the two children like strangers. So they left to take care of themselves. Homeless in a time of war, they have a hard time finding food and staying healthy.

7.Analyze the social and philosophical issues the film addresses. Make sure you include the point of view of the movie, the context of the movie, what audience the movie is targeting, and why. (i.e. you should address and reflect upon the “argument” or “meaning” of the work. This should be analysis, not just summary of issues in the movie.)

The major social issues in this movie are War, Orphans, and Hunger. Being as the movie is based off the air raids during World War II, that makes sense. It showed the air raids on the country, the people trying to save themselves and their children in bomb shelters, and the aftermath to the people who didn’t make it to shelters in time and the Japanese landscape. After the first air raid that we see in the movie, we find out what happened to the children's mother, we get to see the damage a bomb does to a person. You wouldn’t even be able to recognize Seita’s and Setsuko’s mother if we hadn’t seen Seita’s reaction upon seeing her. After their mother died they had to move in with their aunt who treated them like they were nothing but rats eating all of her food. So they leave. They are orphans right now due to their mother being dead and no word from their father who is fighting for the Navy who, we learn later, had died in combat. And we all know homeless orphans can’t really do much to provide for themselves. Especially during a time of war, when jobs and food are scarce. This is when the hunger aspect comes out to play. At first the two children are fine living off bullfrogs and the minimal amount of rice they have left. But soon, they run out of rice and the necessary foods they need to survive. After a while, Seita tries to steal food to save him and his young sister. This obviously doesn’t work for very long, because he gets caught while stealing potatoes. The two of the children become malnourished, Setsuko more so than Seita. Seita tries desperately to save his sister, but in the end is unsuccessful; as we see the young girl lying down, chewing on something and holding an old tin that used to hold fruity candies. Seita, obviously worried, grabs the tin out of Setsuko’s hand and pours out the contents; marbles. He digs the marble Setsuko was trying to eat out of her mouth and takes the tin away from her. She then tells Seita to “eat a rice ball.” He looks at her “rice ball” and sees that… they’re just rocks. Seita, who had been lucky with his rations this time, feeds the young girl a piece of watermelon. She eats it happily, so Seita hands her the rest of the slice of watermelon and then goes outside of their little cave to make food. And his voice narrates over saying, “She never woke up again.” And he himself soon dies of malnourishment as well. (Based off my own notes and this website: http://www.slideshare.net/Zeeboid/grave-of-the-fireflies-17090598)

The movie is from the point of view of Seita, or, to be more specific, Seita after he has died. Although, I don’t think most people realize that until the end of the movie when we see the “red light,” as I dubbed it (more on this light later), envelope Seita and he walks away with Setsuko, both of them healthy once more.

The context of the movie is the two children living in Kobe, Japan in 1945. Otherwise known as World War II. Also four years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Four years after multiple air raids America pulled on Japan in retaliation for the one bomb in Pearl Harbor. And of course the year the infamous bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Though that bombing is not mentioned in the movie, one would know that it did happen at some point during the movie being as it started in March and ended in September of 1945. (Based off information I found on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan)

The target audience for this movie is teens and people in the twenties. I know this due to the producer himself who said he just made the movie to invoke sympathy from people.

8.What is your response to the message of the film? Why do you respond this way? Show that you are thinking about your own thinking here and the biases/assumptions about the world you are bringing to your viewing. Did the film change the way you view the subject? Why, or why not?

Okay, first of all, I’m not sure how nationalistic you are, Ms. Emily Dibble, but I’m just going to say this and throw it out there! America (in general) is a terrorist. There! I said it! And, and we applaud that type of shit, saying, “Oh my goodness, we are heroes, for destroying important cities in a nation that bombed us once!” Okay. Okay. What? We applaud ourselves when we bomb someone, but get our panties in a bunch when someone else bombs us?! I understand bombing isn’t cool, but what do we expect? This country literally goes into other countries, makes a ruckus and expects no one to want to retaliate. Okay, so I’m going to bring some numbers into this comparing the amount of total deaths in Japan and America during World War II. America first: loss of civilian lives is 12,100 out of a population of 131,028,000. Japanese next: loss of civilian lives is 550,000-672,000 out of a population of 71,380,000. That’s… a really big difference. But what about the military deaths? Okay, I can supply that too! America: 407,300 lost. Japan: 2,100,000-2,566,000. We call ourselves heroes for killing that many people?! WE ARE NOT HEROES! The way we think that, pisses me off, if you haven’t already noticed! We call terrorist to Syrians who have done terrorist stuff in America like, what, twice, maybe? If that? And Japan did terrorist stuff to us like once! And they didn’t kill nearly as many as we did when we bombed them! If more people died here, I would feel bad, but I don’t! If I feel bad for anyone, it’s the Japanese!

And to answer the next question, no, this movie did not change the way I view the subject. In fact, I’m pretty sure it reinforced my view of the subject! For a very long time now, I’ve felt that America is probably one of the largest terrorists in the world based on what I’ve read about in History classes and the daily news!

9. What cultural differences did you notice in the film (philosophical outlook, humor, architecture, customs, clothes, cities, weather, food, music, dancing, lifestyles, etc.) What did you learn about history, economics, and politics? (There are always differences; look for them).

I noticed that humor in this movie was quite similar to that of America’s. Seita constantly played with Setsuko to keep her happy and smiling, and it was cute to watch him play with his little sister during a war time. It was good relief in a dramatic movie such as this. The architecture is definitely what you’d expect from a Japanese film. There was the step to signify when you take your shoes off which is a huge custom in Japan even now, there were also the sliding doors within the house rather than ones that just swing open and closed. They also sat on the ground with their legs crossed to eat around a squat, round table. A major custom in Japan is manners. Before every meal you’re supposed to say, “Ittadakimasu” with your hands in a praying position. After you finish your meal you say, “Gochisousama.” These are everyday customs the Japanese do, and in the movie you see Setsuko scold Seita for not doing this. Kimonos, which are dresses for special occasions, are mentioned a few times. For instance, you can see Seita and Setsuko’s mother wearing one in a family portrait. And the children’s aunt also says that their mother won’t need her kimonos anymore (after their mother has died) and sells them for rice. Setsuko also wear traditional Zori sandals through most of the film. Zori sandals are basically flip flops, but are usually made out of straw or bamboo. The traditional ones often have two large platforms on the bottom of them. A few large cities are mentioned throughout the film, like Kobe, Japan which is where the film is set for the most part. Kobe is now Japan’s sixth largest city. Tokyo is also mentioned, which we all know is the capital of Japan. A lot of the food eaten in this movie was rice based. Very stereotypical Japanese food, right? There was also a moment when we got to see some of the Japanese currency. It was just a quick glimpse though. There was also one moment where we saw Japanese flags waving while setting off a Navy fleet.

Some of the history I learned was the amount of air raids on Japan that America did. I knew we had done them, but I had no idea we did so many. It just, it makes sense why most of the world hates this country.

10. What techniques did the filmmaker use that were different from what you see in the films you normally watch? Think about lighting, dialogue, atmosphere, setting, music, and how the filmmaker might play upon your own biases, etc.

Okay, so I’m going to be straight. I’ve seen a few Studio Ghibli films (that’s the studio who released this movie.) And I’ve noticed that they often use trains. I think the train in their movie is symbolic for moving from a destination to a destination you wouldn’t normally be able to get to. Like, say, Heaven and Hell? They use the train to signify that they are travelling to a place you can’t otherwise get to, I think. Ah, the lighting, I’m pretty sure there was more symbolism with the lighting. Remember when I mentioned the “red light”? Yes, this light is important! So, this light showed up on multiple occasions and at first I was confused and thought it just meant a time leap basically. But when the ending comes up and you see Seita and Setsuko walk off in a red light I almost immediately realized that the red light that popped up on the two was signifying that their spirits were watching them; or more like, watching their lives flash before their eyes? I mean, in the beginning of the movie, we basically see Seita die! We see our main character just keel over while some janitors come to sweep up the body! We then see him go meet up with Setsuko and then the movie starts! The whole thing was a flashback, and the red light was telling us when we were looking at their spirits!

Now the dialogue. I don’t honestly have much to say about it. It was well-written and heart-wrenching especially that quote from earlier saying, “She never woke up again.” I literally started bawling when Seita said that. The atmosphere was very gloomy, to be expected. There was very minimal music, which fit perfectly with the movie. Most people have come to expect music to be on every corner of a movie, but this one used only a little here and there for very short intervals of time.

Okay, also, this movie is animated. It’s technically an anime movie, which is what Studio Ghibli specializes in. So, I’m going to mention “ugly crying.” So, you know how, in most cartoons, when someone cries it looks adorable and not red-faced and snot-nosed? Yeah, well this movie showed the “ugly crying” otherwise known as real crying. Nobody looks adorable when they cry. The face turns red and scrunches up, the nose runs and the mouth is open and yelling in sadness, basically. This movie showed that perfectly every time somebody cried! I appreciate the realism that Studio Ghibli puts into their movies.

11. Discuss how what you saw in the film relates to one of the assigned readings or class discussions we have had. Be specific!

You know, honestly, what we’ve been studying in class doesn’t even relate to this movie in the slightest. I mean, most of what we’ve studied is about happiness and religion. This movie was not happy or religious. Like at all. I mean, how often are you going to see a happy movie that’s based inside of World War II? Examples: Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan. Okay, that’s all I really know, but still! Those aren’t happy-go-lucky movies! And religion isn’t even mentioned in this movie. Like, I know that the Japanese have religions over there, but none of the Gods are mentioned at all and there was nothing remotely religious about this movie.

12. Why do you think I assign an international film?

I think that you assign an international film is so that we can see the cultural differences between America and other countries.

Bibliography

IMDB.com

http://www.slideshare.net/Zeeboid/grave-of-the-fireflies-17090598

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan

Reflection

Oh gosh, I felt very strongly about this movie and you can tell if you took the time to read through the essay. The movie itself was so utterly beautiful but I'm sure a lot of people will hate on me because of my very strong opinion and biases. It took me only thirty minutes to write this essay compared to most of my essays that take and hour or longer. While I was writing it, my mind had been running faster than my fingers could and I did have to pause for a few moments to gather my thoughts, but I typed it up much faster because I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. And, let me tell you, it's much easier to write an essay when you know exactly what you want to write about.

#humanities #Fall2015