Why do fireflies die so young?
-- Setsuko, Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

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art.rav.rom.tung fireflies!
information

intro/story

Another one of my all-time favorite movies.. It is extremely powerful and moving, and it isn't meant for everyone. Most of those who have seen it agree that it's probably one of the most compelling dramas ever put to film. You simply cannot sit through this movie, paying 100% attention to it, and not shed a tear. Well, I didn't, but it was only because I was trying hard to hold back.

It is post-war Japan, just weeks before the American occupation. In the city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. Beside his body lies a small candy container. A janitor, unsure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, the ghostly images of the boy and his little sister appear...
Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a fire-bomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister, Setsuko, set out to survive in the face of a society that is no longer able to protect them. Forced to live in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to realize that they can never escape the hardships of war, or even find enough food to survive...

movie info

The movie was based on the novel, "Hotaru no Haka," written by Nosaka Akiyuki, published by Shinchosha. The novel is semi-autobiographical in that he lost his little sister during the war due to malnutrition. He blamed himself for her death for a long time, and wrote the novel to come to terms with the loss.

Original Story: Akiyuki Nosaka
Production Design: Ryoichi Sato
Screenplay by and Director: Isao Takahata
Character Design: Yoshifumi Kondo
Art Director: Nizo Yamamoto
©1988 Akiyuki Nosaka/Shinchosha Co.
Running Time: Approx. 1 hour, 22 minutes.

original soundtrack

(Grave of the Fireflies Image Album) Soundtrack

Original compositions based on the themes created by "images" from the movie, often composed before the movie was made. Usually, some of the pieces are eventually made into a soundtrack piece, but often, there are some that are not used for the film.
There is another version available, it has the same songs from it, however, there are samples from the movie during the songs. Samples of what Setsuko or Seita may have said during the movie.
You can order the CD soundtrack, video, or DVD at these locations.
Anime Otaku
Anime Nation
Central Park Media
Nikaku Animart

media


 
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