Sad Movie- Grave of the Firefiles

Yesterday I stayed up to watch a Japanese Anime "Grave of the Fireflies"by Isao Takahata. It only started showing at 12.20am so it's this morning. It was amazing! I watched till 2am in the morning and only woke up at 9am today. Joe was off to office and children were up having breakfast and watching TV.

It follows the story of 2 children in Kobe made homeless by US air strikes during WWII. The story started with Seita, the young teenager lying on the floor of the underground train station and the cleaners just said it's another one - these unwanted creatures. People's lives can be so worthless during difficult. When the cleaner found a fruit drops can, he opened it and fireflies and ash were poured out. The can contains some of the ash of the teenager's baby sister and the two souls reunited and the story begins....

The teenager, Seita is about 14-16 yrs of age and he had a beautiful baby sister, Setsuko. She is about 3-5 yrs old and full of energy. The scene started where the mother was asking the young lad to bury some things in the soil. she wanted the little girl to listen to her elder brother and they agreed to meet at the rail station. The young lad ran off quickly with his sister at his back. They managed to stay alive. When they were out from safety, they were shocked to see the whole village in ruins and they can't find their mother. A neighbour saw them at the makeshift emergency centre in a primary school and told them that their mother was seriously burnt. Seita did not tell his baby sister and he took care of his mum. Their mum was too seriously burnt and died a few days later. Her corpse were covered with flies and maggots and I was really sad at that moment and can't stop my tears flowing. As their father is serving the Japanese navy and not around, the pair went to seek refuge from an aunt. The cruel aunt reluctantly agrees to take care of the pair but survival is precarious. The kids were always hungry and the aunt will say nasty things to them. However, at that time, food supply is limited and everyone is hungry. The aunt asked the kids to sell their mum's Kimono for food and they had some rice for a few days. The aunt kept better food for her husband and child and chided them of not being grateful. In the end, the children decided to move out and stay in a cave. They started cooking their own dinner and taking care of themselves. They had some money as the mum had left some amount behind. They had some freedom and happiness for a while. They watch firefiles flying around and catch them to illuminate their shelter. Setsuko being a kind hearted child buries the dead insects the next morning- given their mother was incinerated by the napalm. However, the duo's decision to move out was not really a good one. They have nothing to eat and Setsuko soon become very sick with malnutrition.The brother became a thief by stealing formt eh farmers. Once he was caught and beaten up so badly. When the farmer brought him to the police station, the kind hearted policeman let him off and threatened to charge the farmer for serious assault after seeing Seita's injuries. In wartime, the true colours of people can really be seen. Some people will go all out to help whereas others are not so kind.

After this incident, Seita dared not steal openly. Instead, he waited for air raids whereby others will be running to the shelter for their dear lives. He risked of being killed and went into people's house in search of food. Irony as the child has to do such a thing to stay alive.

The saddest part of the story was the part where the baby sister died after eating a piece of watermelon. She has been sick for so long and she was really in a pack of bones. The elder brother decided to withdraw all the mother's money and bought some food for her. However, the poor child was so sick and after tasting the sweet watermelon, passed away peacefully. Brother was out cooking the dinner and the little girl just left this world. Every time when the brother was out the little girl will longed for his return and kept calling out his names. Having a little girl like Channery and I just can't stop crying at the poor soul's pitiful life. The brother bought her a basket and cremeted her at the hills. After that, the brother left the shelter with only some ashes of his sister with him. Whatever happened at the city is beyond words. The whole show ended with such despair and I can't help feeling sorrowful and yet hoping that there is no war. During wartime, there are too many untold stories of sadness and despair.

I can't help but wonder what the kids' future will be if the kids have stayed with the aunt? She is mean but at least they have a roof over their heads. By staying in the cave, they were bitten by insects and subjected to nature's torment. The baby sister's body was covered with insects' bites and that was not a pleasant sight. Maybe if it is the mum and the child, they will survive but a teenager boy? The role of being the parents is just beyond him. After watching the show, I had an urge to make sure my boys know how to take care of themselve and others. One of the reason that the pair was not welcome in their aunt's house as they never make an effort to help out in the household chores. They could leave their dirty dishes around and the aunt had to wash up for them. The inability to realize that they ought to show gratitude to their aunt also angered her to make the sacarstic remarks. Anyway, too many thoughts after watching the show. Try to get the DVD if you are interested. MAybe they have it on utube too. I am rushing off to fetch Joe now......