I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

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_EAllusion
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I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
_Dr. Shades
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"

--Louis Midgley
_Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post by _Doctor CamNC4Me »

Why was it depressing for you?

- Doc
In the face of madness, rationality has no power - Xiao Wang, US historiographer, 2287 AD.

Every record...falsified, every book rewritten...every statue...has been renamed or torn down, every date...altered...the process is continuing...minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Ideology is always right.
_Maksutov
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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. :wink:
Last edited by Guest on Mon Jan 15, 2018 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_Dr. Shades
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"

--Louis Midgley
_DoubtingThomas
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post by _DoubtingThomas »

Is it a WW2 film?
_Maksutov
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post by _Maksutov »

DoubtingThomas wrote:Is it a WW2 film?


It's much more than that.
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_moksha
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
Cry Heaven and let loose the Penguins of Peace
_Xenophon
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
_EAllusion
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Re: I watched Grave of the Fireflies again

Post 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.
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