*wipes his eyes*
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| So beautifully sad. |
I walk out of the cold room, people are getting up at a slow pace. I make my way out of the building, avoiding further contact with people i lethargically walk to my room. I turn on my computer, go on facebook and post a video on my sister's wall. Boy do I miss that crazy and obnoxious being i love to death.
But i digress, as i always do.
Grave of the Fireflies brought up a lot of different points and themes to the table. Ranging from WWII to sibling love and the brevity of life, the film truly has a lot to be discussed and analyzed. As i watched the movie i kept jotting down notes of things i saw on my phone, here's kind of what it looks like:
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| I'd feel too sad to eat these. |
Color Orange
Fireflies
Candybox
Treasures
Moments of relief: Candy, water leaking, fireflies, beach, piano...
Kids being cheated on...
Sibling Love. Ignorance is bliss??
Sacrifice
Looking back and imagination
Bullfrogs
Rain
Some of the things i want to briefly touch today: Rain, Fireflies and Siblings.
First we have le rain, rain can be seen as both a good or a bad omen. In this particular film I believe it symbolizes change. Not only a change in the weather...duh...but also a change in the siblings circumstances. Every time the siblings circumstances were going to change, there was rain. For example, Seita and Setzuko are running around and it rains, they find shelter in the abandoned...shelter. They discovered what would become their final home under the rain.
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| If you hold it too hard you kill it. Hold it too soft and it flies away. |
Then we have the fireflies. These guys are iconic for the film. Not only do they represent the beauty of life, the light of the moment and the magical connection of the siblings, the fireflies represent the brevity of life. Seita and Setzuko have the fireflies in their little shelter. The small insects bring light and life to the small cave. The children have a moment of bliss, the fireflies literally light up their life at that moment. Its beautiful but its also short lived. The fireflies die the next day, not only foreshadowing the children's death, but also just expressing the point of the brevity of life a little more.
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| What a cute scene.... |
The last part i want to talk about are siblings. In the film you really see how the siblings love each other, care for each other and mature despite all the hardships. Seita takes his sister under his care, acting not only like a brother, but like a father and even a mother for Setzuko. The latter, despite being a 4 year old, has to quickly mature in order to help her brother; as seen in the scene where she learns how to sew the sheets. The love they have for each other is incredible, a couple of memorable moments that really touched my heart were: the beach scene, the fireflies, the scene after Seita is sent to the police and (after watching the movie and then streaming certain parts) the beginning of the movie when the souls reunite.
This film is probably one of the most depressing and powerful films we have seen, that makes it memorable and that makes it worth it.
This film is probably one of the most depressing and powerful films we have seen, that makes it memorable and that makes it worth it.
Now... this one is for my sister.
Dave Matthews always has the better word for me.
“To ten million fireflies,
I’m weird cause I hate goodbyes
“To ten million fireflies,
I’m weird cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell
But I know where several are
when my dreams get real bizzare
when my dreams get real bizzare
Cause I take a few and I keep them in a jar”- Fireflies Owl City
Damn you Xavi for using the same Owl City song as me, haha. Well, at least you only quoted the song and didn't actually embed the video like I did. Anywho, you made some pretty nice points in this blog post. I never noticed the film's use of rain as a symbol of change. But now that I've read your blog and thought about it, you're right. Rain comes during transitional stages for the children. The fireflies are definitely important in the film, symbolizing the beauty that is life, but also the short nature of it. Life isn't short because the children in the film died at a young age. Life is still short even when you die as a 90-year-old. When we speak of how short life is, it's not literal. We're talking figuratively and symbolically. Every moment of life is precious and should be cherished. As for the brother-sister bond depicted in 'Grave of the Fireflies', it's pretty heartwarming. The relationship I have with my younger sister is pretty love-hate, because we fight so darn much. But even though we bicker and fight so much, in the end we still love one another and I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her. Family is the most important thing you can have in life.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that this movie can be broken down so easily into these iconic elements you brought up. Things such as fireflies and fruit drops are so simple and yet carry so much emotional weight. I think everyone has things or places or other elements in their lives that they connect with certain feelings or moments in their past. For example, the candy tin serves as one of the two children's only connections to their childhood or happier times. Because these little elements are so simple, we can easily recognize and relate to their significance.
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