In the final months of World War II, 2 orphaned siblings try to survive in Japan. The opening line tells you how it ends. It's an anti-war film told entirely from the ground, among civilians. Because it is animated, the grief feels more exposed than it could in live action.
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 animation, drama and war film directed by Isao Takahata. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 editing and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya uses several of the same techniques.
Starting the film by showing or telling you how it ends, such as the main character's death or defeat. The rest of the story then explains how things got there.
How this film uses it
'September 21, 1945. That was the night I died.' Seita's ghost tells his own story, starting from the end. You already know the children don't survive, so the film is about watching how it happens. Every small hope they have, you watch knowing it will not be enough.
Where to see it
The film's opening line. The death is announced before you see a single image of the children alive.
Using animation, for a whole film or for short sequences inside live action, to make emotions hit harder. Drawn images can show inner feelings that realistic footage can't reach.
How this film uses it
Takahata and Studio Ghibli draw starvation, grief and death very directly. Live action would inevitably make the same things look more polished. The children's faces are hand-drawn, and you watch them waste away in soft pencil lines. It is more devastating than any live performance could be.
Where to see it
Setsuko's deterioration. The animation lets you see the illness in her face and body without exploiting it.
Telling a large historical tragedy through a small domestic or personal story, so the loss is felt through individual lives.
How this film uses it
You never see the war as a military operation. You experience it as firebombing, food rationing, relatives who don't care and childhood slowly dying out. Takahata's argument is that the real story of a war is what it costs civilians, and that cost is counted in children.
Where to see it
The firebombing of Kobe. You experience it entirely from the ground, as pure terror with no context or strategy.
Repeating one shape or image, such as circles, an X or a fragile natural sight, throughout the film. Each return adds meaning and quietly signals themes or fate.
How this film uses it
The fireflies appear in the film's gentlest scenes, and they are tied to Setsuko's joy and innocence. Like her, they are beautiful and don't live long. When she buries them and asks why things die, everything the film wants you to feel is in that one image.
Where to see it
Setsuko burying the fireflies. She asks why they die, which is the film's main question in a child's voice.
Questions
Grave of the Fireflies: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Grave of the Fireflies use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Grave of the Fireflies (1988): Proleptic Opening, Animation as Emotional Amplifier, Intimate Scale Tragedy and Recurring Visual Motif.
Who directed Grave of the Fireflies?
Isao Takahata directed Grave of the Fireflies, released in 1988. CineCode also covers The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).
What films are similar to Grave of the Fireflies?
Films that share techniques with Grave of the Fireflies include The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), The Lion King (1994), The Departed (2006), Ikiru (1952).
