Diddy
愛してるって 言わなきゃ殺す
It was back in January that we last went back to the 80s, the same month we last got to an Isao Takahata movie too. And goodness me, what a movie to pick up with. Blame dear sister @Mats for this one, but after the previous film toying with the idea of war, "Grave of the Fireflies" means business.
Studio Ghibli was finding its feet, building on the success of Nausicaa, formally establishing the studio and scoring another hit with Laputa (L*puta in Spain), they made the astonishing choice of making "Grave of the Fireflies" a double feature with "My Neighbour Totoro" - it all paid off in the end, with the "Totoro" ending up the flagship film for the studio and making the unlikely duo financially viable, and their studio commercially and critically unparalleled.
"Grave of the Fireflies" ("Hotaru no Haka") is set in Kobe city in the last months of WWII, where American firebombing decimated the city and left hundreds of thousands homeless, including orphaned 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko, who are forced to scratch out a living in the burnt remains of the devastated city. Even reading the synopsis and watching the trailer made me want to cry, so just watch this without any more information.
Obviously the subject matter wasn't exactly catnip at the box-office, but it is probably THE biggest critical hit for the studio, consistently ending up on "Best animated movie" lists, "Best war movie lists" and also a "Most depressing anime" list.
Sorry in advance, this is the only movie in the canon produced for Shinchosha - the company who own the rights to the short story the film is based on. As a result it is not on the usual streaming services - but I really recommend finding a way to see this somehow.
HOW THIS WORKS
In a semi book club format, the films will be announced, and over the course of about 2 weeks we can watch it and let everyone know what we thought. I'll nominate someone to pick the next film each time, but maybe let's try not to blow all the famous ones first!
I was thinking 2 weeks should be enough time for most people to fit in a viewing at some point, but it's not strict so please come back when you have a chance, no pressure!
@Christian @Gangsta Nancy Lam @jivafox @COB @Haiku @ZenGiraffe @Lucille @KindaCool @Eyes @Queen of the Bay @RaspberrySwirl @RJN @Beverley @big ron @ButterTart @Mats (let me know if you don't want to be tagged any more)
Studio Ghibli was finding its feet, building on the success of Nausicaa, formally establishing the studio and scoring another hit with Laputa (L*puta in Spain), they made the astonishing choice of making "Grave of the Fireflies" a double feature with "My Neighbour Totoro" - it all paid off in the end, with the "Totoro" ending up the flagship film for the studio and making the unlikely duo financially viable, and their studio commercially and critically unparalleled.
"Grave of the Fireflies" ("Hotaru no Haka") is set in Kobe city in the last months of WWII, where American firebombing decimated the city and left hundreds of thousands homeless, including orphaned 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko, who are forced to scratch out a living in the burnt remains of the devastated city. Even reading the synopsis and watching the trailer made me want to cry, so just watch this without any more information.
Obviously the subject matter wasn't exactly catnip at the box-office, but it is probably THE biggest critical hit for the studio, consistently ending up on "Best animated movie" lists, "Best war movie lists" and also a "Most depressing anime" list.
Sorry in advance, this is the only movie in the canon produced for Shinchosha - the company who own the rights to the short story the film is based on. As a result it is not on the usual streaming services - but I really recommend finding a way to see this somehow.
HOW THIS WORKS
In a semi book club format, the films will be announced, and over the course of about 2 weeks we can watch it and let everyone know what we thought. I'll nominate someone to pick the next film each time, but maybe let's try not to blow all the famous ones first!
I was thinking 2 weeks should be enough time for most people to fit in a viewing at some point, but it's not strict so please come back when you have a chance, no pressure!
@Christian @Gangsta Nancy Lam @jivafox @COB @Haiku @ZenGiraffe @Lucille @KindaCool @Eyes @Queen of the Bay @RaspberrySwirl @RJN @Beverley @big ron @ButterTart @Mats (let me know if you don't want to be tagged any more)