Grave of the Fireflies: *****

What I did not know was that this animated movie was much more an art piece than just any other mainstream movie. You can easily find that it’s not the animation that is the life of this movie, it’s the direction. Strange it was for me, to think of directing being of such a strong influencer in an animated movie. Why would you make an animation? To jump over the boundaries of a movie enacted by blood and flesh humans; say a fiction with magic, powers, stunts etc. But not this movie, there is none of these in here, just that it adds a minuteness in details every here and there.

The story is set in Japan when it was bearing the burn of Allies airpower in World War II. It’s casted on two thespians, a brother in teenage and his sister of age six to seven. The movie beautifully captures the nuances of a child’s behavior; so much so that when the little girl gets irritatingly childish, still she doesn’t invoke the emotions of irritation! The bond between the two and the world spun around them that has been shown requires a mature direction and a high understanding of the emotions of humans when they are set in a trauma wherein they have no option but to take it all. Not even a single word of cribbing has been voiced by the brother who faces the life hard way. Along the movie you can easily see the change in his personality and the mockery that the war casts upon their life and life of people around them. When others run away from their homes to a safer place during bombings the guy runs towards home as he can find the food for him and his sister left by these people. He is the one who has to bear all the emotions inside his own self when he founds the unrecognizable cadaver of his mother.

In the end you can’t help but acknowledge this satirical mockery. No I wont give the ending, for then the taste of movie will be lost in case you plan to see it after the review.

I always thought that the movie was ought to be the league of Night Rider or Street Hawk (this one was my childhood most favorite serial!). This made me always think that I can manage not watching it. Based in early 50s, at best it could have been a mix of stunt and adrenaline showcased with the newly found use of technology in movies; it would have been a blockbuster at that time but in today’s date? Why would I watch it when there are movies like Matrix, XXX (Vin Diesel) etc!! But then I was wrong, the movie is on totally different theme and showcases why it has always been considered as a milestone in movie acting. No doubt it won three Oscars in acting alone!

I managed to get my hands on the Original Director’s Version, which has in addition to other scenes, the show of sexual tension between Blanche (very nicely played by Vivien Leigh) and Stanley (Marlon Brando). What struck me the most was the acting of Vivien, the lady has beautifully portrayed the role of a female with impulses, whims, mood swings and high emotions which would turn the frustration on in a man. In first half I couldn’t help but despise her character for she stood for something that really gets in my nerves. But the second half takes you through her inner self, the part that has made her what she is now. The blasts of internal conflicts that she has to go through are aptly demonstrated in expressions without uttering a single word. That, my friend is what I call acting!