Grave fo the Fireflies

[monkeyskin]

I watched this for the first time yesterday and I was almost in tears by the end, but it was such a good movie. Setsuko's scene with the marbles towards the end is what started to set me off...

Has anybody else seen this, or any other Studio Ghibli films? I'm relatively new to them but looking at the feature in last month's Total Film I've seen five of their top ten. Just the other five to go now

 

[corianderstem]

This film wrecked me. I sobbed like a baby at the end.

 

[impy13]

I was hoping it was a third installment in the House of 1000 Corpses/Devil's Rejects saga.

disappointmentxcore

 

[If you shout...]

Essential Studio Ghibli material (most of it from Miyazaki):

Spirited Away

Castle In The Sky

Princess Mononoke

Pom Poko

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

My Neighbor Totoro

Porco Rosso

...and, of course...

Howl's Moving Castle

But there are plenty more where those came from...! Wonderful studio full of wonderful creators all around.

 

[foray]

Ebert called this the best war film ever made.

foray

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

I honestly could not get through it. Setsuko annoyed the hell out of me. I gave up after half an hour.

 

[lazarus]

Fireflies is just heartbreaking, and an example of a film that may have just been too overwrought if done in live action. I think it should be required viewing in U.S. schools so they can see the true effects of flexing military muscle and playing god with advanced weaponry (even if it's 60 years overdue).

In addition to the Ghibli films listed by If You Shout above, I'd recommend Whisper of the Heart, which is a bit cheesy, but very nicely done. I think The Cat Returns, which was just released by Disney, is a sequel of sorts to it.

If you haven't seen the work of Miyazaki and are a fan of ANY kind of animation, you are seriously missing out. This guy blows Disney and Pixar out of the water.

I think Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is one of the most creative and beautiful things I've ever seen. It's the slightly more sci-fi/post apocalyptic version of Mononoke, and I think superior despite being Miyazaki's first real feature.

A side note, if you want some more "mainstream" Japanese stuff, try checking out the films of Satoshi Kon: Toyko Godfathers, Millenium Actress, and Perfect Blue. Great stuff.