Veith Grave of the Fireflies

I like to use the term depressingly uplifting to describe a lot of things, for example, Arcade Fire's music. As artsy and lame as it is, the term suits Grave of the Fireflies well. The horrors of war, specifically the undeserved death of a small child, are what this movie (film/ movie? I'm still unsure of the difference.) is all about. Which is depressing. But, the compassion between child siblings for each other during such harsh times is what makes Grave of the Fireflies so special. Setsuko and Saita are just too damn cute.

The extremity of child starvation and survival in such a brutal situation as the aftermath of a bombing shows Japan’s grievance over World War II. In fact, there is a term for this. I can’t remember what exactly it is called and the article in which I read about it is now missing from Blackboard, but it’s something like this: Japan feels so victimized and misunderstood, especially in terms of warfare. Its islands being isolated and ridden with monsoons and tsunamis, it is completely different from anywhere else. Through films like Grave of the Fireflies and The Harp of Burma, profound and beautiful times of terror, like young sibling survival and grave-making for a innumerable Japanese war casualties, this feeling of victimization and misunderstanding is depicted.

This type of spirituality, this beautiful sorrowful feeling that Japan has, is so irrelevant to everyone else. It should not be ignored. From what I gather, Japanese people are polite. They work hard and seem to live by a code of ethics completely absent from America. As a country, they certainly are misunderstood, (and definitely weird) but Japan seems so exquisite to me! Just look at the beauty of Setsuko and Seita’s care for each other. They are perfect children. And just consider how lovely it is that one single man committed his life to rightfully bury Japanese soldiers in Burma. It sucks that we had to have conflict with Japan in World War II. Now, I think it’s important to recognize the elegance in Japanese culture, which can be better understood through their wartime films.