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I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:52 pm
by _EAllusion
I haven't seen the movie in 15+ years. It's the most depressing film I've ever seen and is a devastating experience to sit through. I of course knew this going in, but forgot on a emotional level just how painful it is. All that remained was the abstract knowledge of its impact. I'm not sure it was wise to let myself watch it again.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 8:02 pm
by _Dr. Shades
Thanks for the reminder. It's been even longer than that for me, but I still remember it being one of the most depressing movies ever.
War truly is Hell.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 8:25 pm
by _Doctor CamNC4Me
Why was it depressing for you?
- Doc
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:15 am
by _Maksutov
EAllusion wrote:I haven't seen the movie in 15+ years. It's the most depressing film I've ever seen and is a devastating experience to sit through. I of course knew this going in, but forgot on a emotional level just how painful it is. All that remained was the abstract knowledge of its impact. I'm not sure it was wise to let myself watch it again.
Have you watched much Michael Haneke or Gaspar Noé? If not, don't.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:32 am
by _Dr. Shades
Doctor CamNC4Me wrote:Why was it depressing for you?
The amount of suffering that the protagonists were forced to endure due to no fault of their own.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:35 am
by _DoubtingThomas
Is it a WW2 film?
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:00 am
by _Maksutov
DoubtingThomas wrote:Is it a WW2 film?
It's much more than that.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:52 am
by _moksha
That scene where Godzilla steps on Bambi has always been a downer for me. Fortunately, it was not from Grave of the Fireflies.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:37 pm
by _Xenophon
Maksutov wrote:DoubtingThomas wrote:Is it a WW2 film?
It's much more than that.
To expand a bit for you DT, it is a story of two youth in Japan at the end of WW2 and the very difficult journey they go through. It does an amazing job capturing the absolute tragedy, violence, and suffering that war causes for people. Aside from the war setting though, it is more generally a harsh overall commentary on how society can fail youth by isolating/not looking out for them.
Don't let the animated bit fool you, it is a pretty brutal watch but one that I and
a ton of others would recommend.
Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:06 pm
by _EAllusion
Doctor CamNC4Me wrote:Why was it depressing for you?
- Doc
Have you seen it? If so, I'd think that would be self-evident on some level. If not, I'm not sure how spoilery I should be. The short of it is that its a semi-biographical exploration of how the horrors of war impact a brother and young sister in a way that is realistic and horrifyingly soul-crushing. Usually seeing a movie multiple times can blunt its emotional impact, but I think it was worse for me this time around then the last time I saw it. Perhaps its because I have greater awareness of on-going refugee crises to humanize the story even further. Or perhaps it is because I look at children more like an adult in his 30's would. I'm not sure.
It hurt bad to watch, though. It's the kind of film that makes you want to crawl in a bathtub and cut yourself. It edges out Breaking the Waves as the most depressing movie I've ever seen, and outside of a handful of films, I don't think it's even close. Most movies are incapable of mining that much pathos. It borders on traumatic to watch.