MovieChat Forums > Hotaru no haka (1989) Discussion > If you just focus on the guilt question ...

If you just focus on the guilt question you have understood nothing..

posted 8 years ago by j-d-schumacher
7 replies | jump to latest

The movie is about the horrors of war. People suffer. Who is at fault for each individual suffering is completely secondary. Could the kids have survived if Seita had taken different actions ? Maybe. Was he too proud to go back to his aunt ? Maybe. One way or another it would not have been easy since as the farmer says its not about money or Kimonos but about the lack of food in general. But that all is not the point. If you leave the movie being angry at Seito for not acting differently you have not understood the movie.

War itself is the root of all evil. But its also wrong to focus on things like pearl harbor or who started the war. The whole point of the movie is to display human suffering at wartimes (especialy among the civilians) and that that suffering is brutal and cruel. Even if you think that Japan is at fault for the war and the bombings (thats fine) and even if you think that Seita should have acted differently you cant possibly say that the kids deserved what they got. Noone in his heart of hearts can be that cruel. In my eyes "Grave of the fireflies" is probably one of the most effective trials against war that there is and certainly one of the strongest appeals to human emotions I have seen in any movie.

Full disclosure: I am german. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the war and the immediate time after the war ended. To make it short. It was rough. She used to say: "Who experienced this war does not want to have another." That in a nutshell is the essence of the movie. A message that should never be forgotten.

First post I made on imdb since years. The overall focus on the guilt questions in the topics just angered me.

[–] Samuraibro 8 years ago

Lmao try again, buddy. You're the one who "[understands] nothing". Grave of the Fireflies is not, and has NEVER been an anti-war film.

[–] slayingthequeen 8 years ago

I agree with you to some degree. Nothing bothers me more when people describe seito as "selfish" or "too proud." First of all, Japanese people were VERY prideful back then. Read up about soldiers commiting suicide when they lose the war.. It was a pride thing. Not to mention, Seito's dad, whom I believe he looks up to, was in the army. I'm pretty sure the way he was brought up had a lot to do with his personality. It wasn't him being too proud to go back to his aunt's...but it was the things that his aunt was saying that probably low key embarrassed seito and he felt like he didn't want to trouble the family anymore.

People are so quick to think "oh why didn't he just go back to his aunts" or "use the money to go find his other relatives in tokyo." ...like this is set back during WW2...people weren't easy to find (compare to using facebook now a days to find ur 4th grade friend)...like it's not as easy as A-B-C.... god!

[–] TutuAnimationPrincess 8 years ago

Your sentiments are largely irrelevant for two key reasons. This first is that this film was never intended as an anti war film, neither was the novel really for that matter. The second is that, even if this was intended to be an anti war film, that alone does not make an interesting film. The vast majority of people today living in first world societies already agree that war is a terrible thing and should always be considered that absolute last option in any conflict. Therefore, because this movie is largely just contrived manipulation, Seita's character arc is the most obvious thing to focus on. If you look into both the intentions of the novel's author and this film's director, his actions are not meant to be taken with sympathy whether you agree with that or not.

"If life is getting you down and needs uplifting, then please come dance with me!"

[–] WeirdRaptor 8 years ago

^ This. This film was a smarmy attempt at manipulating the youths of Japan at the time. The message of the film is "Hey, you little bastards! Your parents and grandparents went through Hell during World War II! Show some gratitude!"

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." -Gandalf

[–] PrincessTutu (76) 4 years ago

It's so interesting seeing my old post and reflecting on how I've changed since then. While I don't think I said anything wrong here, I now believe that Grave of the Fireflies is quite the cinematic masterpiece regardless of it's intentions.

[–] crc32 (2584) 4 years ago

Under what name did you post your original statement under. Or rather which comment above is your old one?

[–] PrincessTutu (76) 4 years ago

My name was TutuAnimationPrincess. I had to shorten it here due to the character limit.