Warning: contains spoilers!
How sad was this film? This was one that definitely tugs at the heartstrings and if it doesn't make you shed a tear or at least move you in anyway then you're really missing the point.
What we have here is another masterpiece from the awesome Studio Ghibli with a story set during World War II with Kobe being bombed by airstrikes. The two protagonists are 14 year old Seita and his younger sister Setsuko who have to fend for themselves after their mother is injured during the attack and later passes away. At first they go to live with their aunt but after she complains that they don't do anything to earn the food she provides them with they both leave.
This doesn't prove to be a wise choice though. The two siblings struggle to find food and take shelter in an abandoned bombing shelter near a river. As the film progresses Setsuko begins to fall ill and her condition worsens. Seita becomes desperate and resorts to stealing crops for his sister but he is caught by a farmer and handed over to police but is shortly released. He later takes Setsuko to a doctor and learns she's suffering from malnutrition but the doctor only tells him to feed her.
Later when Seita returns from gathering food he finds Setsuko hallucinating and she passes away shortly after :'(
During their travels Seita finds a fruit tin that the two carry as they were a favourite of Setsuko's. After he cremates her he puts his ashes into the tin and carries it until he dies a few weeks later in Sannomiya Station also from malnutrition.
It is also believed that his father died while fighting for Japan.
Such a sad film! The name comes from a scene where Seita and Setsuko collect fireflies and release them in their shelter to provide light. The following morning they have all died and Setsuko buries them in a grave.
There's also a live action film of GOTF so I'm going to check that out.
However, I think i'll need to watch a comedy tonight! I did enjoy this film but it is tragic. Reminds me a bit of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas!
Here's to more classic Studio Ghibli films!
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