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Finally watched Grave of Fireflies, I did not shed a tear

Ocarina_117

Ocarina_117

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,573
But I do have an overwhelming feeling of emptiness in my gut right now.

What a hauntingly beautiful movie this is. An utterly heartbreaking tale of survival and value of human life.

Don't think I'll ever watch this film again, but I'm glad I experienced it.

I have anger towards Seita and the aunt for (moreso the latter). The aunt was cruel and Seita overly prideful in not seeking her help again when it was clear Setsuko was ill.

I wish I had someone to talk about this movie with in person aha.

That final screen pan of Setsuko and Seita's spirits on a bench overlooking a modern City is one that will stick with me.
 
Tfritz

Tfritz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,288
the only movie that's given me even close to the similar emptiness is When The Wind Blows*, but even that provides some emotional distance because it's a hypothetical rather than "this is more or less the reality for many children post war"

*given, uh, current events i would probably recommend against watching this film
 
Disco Stu

Disco Stu

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,306
You monster.

(Yeah, it's great. I love it and have watched it a few times. Even have a tin of the candies.)
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,992
here
LRhByoA.jpg
 
Blader

Blader

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,623
It's a great film but its reputation as a soul crusher is a bit overhyped I think. Telling you the kids die right from the start blessedly takes some of the sting out of the ending.

No movie will ever be more shattering imo than Dear Zachary.
 
ThereAreFourNaan

ThereAreFourNaan

Member
Nov 8, 2017
13,115
I had the film hyped up way too much as the saddest film ever so I was more or less expecting roughly what happened and it didn't affect me to nearly the degree it seems to have for most people.

It's hard to predict what kinds of things will and won't make me cry in media. I was at the perfect age for Donnie Darko to hit me like a truck when I saw that for the first time (15). Come and See fucked me up on quite a few levels at a similar age. Fry's dog still does it if I spend too long thinking about it. I think the most recent one was the working class woman sidequest in Disco Elysium.
 
DarkSora

DarkSora

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,186
Neither did I. If anything, I was pissed of at the brother more than anything.

I guess so many people hyped it up saying how sad it was that they could never watch it again that I went into it with high expectation but it wasn't at all what I expected.
 
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,300
Minnesota
Where's this one stream? I remember watching it in high school and being really annoyed with it. But the movie got crazy amounts of hype, so i maybe went in with the wrong expectations. Also i was in high school and therefore dumb as rocks.

I'd like to revisit it.
 
OP
OP
Ocarina_117

Ocarina_117

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,573
DarkSora said:
Neither did I. If anything, I was pissed of at the brother more than anything.

I guess so many people hyped it up saying how sad it was that they could never watch it again that I went into it with high expectation but it wasn't at all what I expected.
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I'm trying to sympathise given the situation, but yeah I'm mostly angry with how he handled the situation.
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

Banned
Apr 25, 2020
25,953
Conkersbadfurday said:
Where's this one stream? I remember watching it in high school and being really annoyed with it. But the movie got crazy amounts of hype, so i maybe went in with the wrong expectations. Also i was in high school and therefore dumb as rocks.

I'd like to revisit it.
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Doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere, at least that I see in NA. You'll have to rent or buy it.
 
Jotakori

Jotakori

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,184
Oh I saw this for the first time just a year or two back. Yeah, I didn't cry either. People have the tendency to hype it up as the saddest thing ever, so I unfortunately went in expecting it to be waayy worse than it actually was. Like, sure it's sad, but mostly it's just fucked up and I think I felt more frustration over the brother and aunt than anything else.

Ultimately I didn't care for this one very much. Like, I'm glad I watched it just so I have the knowledge of the film, but since it didn't manage to land a sense of emotional catharsis with me, I came out the other end just kinda feeling unsatisfied.
 
Midee

Midee

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,474
CA, USA
I cried pretty hard at one part, but honestly every time I was close to crying, the corny melodramatic piano music would just ruin it for me. Joe Hisashi it ain't.

But yeah it's still an absolutely brutal movie.
 
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gabyb

gabyb

Member
Jun 23, 2021
192
Tfritz said:
the only movie that's given me even close to the similar emptiness is When The Wind Blows*, but even that provides some emotional distance because it's a hypothetical rather than "this is more or less the reality for many children post war"

*given, uh, current events i would probably recommend against watching this film
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Just reading the sypnosis fucked me up.
 
Aztechnology

Aztechnology

Community Resettler
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
14,145
Surprisingly, out of all media. Anohana the flower we saw that day. Probably fucked me up for the longest. I think I was already a little depressed at the time, but that took me all the way.
 
Duxxy3

Duxxy3

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,764
USA
I watched it years ago. I don't remember it very clear at this point, butI definitely cried. It's in my tiny list of movies to never ever watch again.
 
fertygo

fertygo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,573
I feel anger..

Hey OP, do you already watched Princess Kaguya? If not, get on it ASAP
 
kmfdmpig

kmfdmpig

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
19,378
It's the only movie that ever made me cry.
One comic did as well - I Kill Giants.
In terms of media that's it for tear inducing.
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
Moderator
Sep 18, 2018
8,638
I should give it another watch to see if it makes me cry. The first time I saw it, for some reason, I thought they died in a nuclear blast so I kept waiting for that to happen, and it kind of took my attention away from what was actually going on.

More_Badass said:
Have you seen Barefoot Gen? That one hurt too, even more so than Fireflies
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I've seen both of the Barefoot Gen animated movies and read the manga (for some reason that's what I decided to do during the worst months of the pandemic). The manga wrecked me. As did the second film. The first was shocking and numbing but I thought Gen was too cartoony/childish and it was distracting.
 
DyByHands

DyByHands

Member
Jul 16, 2018
1,132
"That was the night that I died."

Sorry if I butchered the quote. Its what I always remembered from it the most. I loved it way back. Should watch it again.
 
Jibbajabbawockky

Jibbajabbawockky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,296
Ocarina_117 said:
I'm trying to sympathise given the situation, but yeah I'm mostly angry with how he handled the situation.
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Thing is that the brother is still a kid himself and the whole messed up part of the entire situation is that as a kid, he shouldn't be having to make those sorts of decisions. So it makes sense that, as a child, he screws up and doesn't know any better how to help his sister. The bigger problem is that no adults stepped in to help Seita or Setsuko when they clearly needed it. But that's kind of the tragedy of the war itself, in that most of the adults just turn a blind eye to them cause they've got their own problems and can't be bothered to help a couple orphans.
 
RetroRunner

RetroRunner

Member
Dec 6, 2020
4,925
I found it a bit too over the top(mawkish?)when I watched it in my early 20s, now that I'm in my 30s with kids I bet it'd make me cry but I'm never watching it again.
 
Xils

Xils

Member
Feb 4, 2020
3,365
I just couldn't get invested in anything that happen in the movie so I ended up feeling bored more than anything. People overhyping it definitely doesn't help.
Though that's probably what I feel for most Ghibli's films. None of them ever clicked for me. Granted, there are still tons of Ghibli's films I haven't seen so maybe I'll like some of them.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,711
Yeah that movie was definitely something that can make you feel gross more than sad. Its a slow burn of people just struggling to live.
The supernatural elements kinda took away from the movie imo, even as a metaphor its kinda weird like its a ghost narrating a very grounded war story?
 
BakedTanooki

BakedTanooki

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,727
Germany
BasilZero said:
First time seeing this mentioned - will check it out
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It really is/was overlooked and was relatively quickly forgotten. But it's getting mostly praised by the ones who have seen it and also has relatively good reviews.

It's a has it all. Beautiful visuals, a great soundtrack, an interesting and tragic story, with many memorable and emotional scenes.
 
Zeroing

Zeroing

Banned
Apr 9, 2022
66
I remember watching with my sister when we both were teenagers and it was a very depressing. We both nearly cried at some parts. Great movie but I think it made us see the world in a different way, a more realistic way. Years later neither I or her want to rewatch it. I still think the younger you are, the more impact the movie will make in those who watch it.
 
Glio

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
24,533
Spain
My problem with this film is that it revels so much in misery that in the end I just feel "It's over, for God's sake, I know they're going to die."
 
Helix

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
Member
Jun 8, 2019
23,799
how? there is not a time where I have not cried watching this and I have explicitly tried to have a "no cry" rewatch which I also failed.
 
Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,560
Tonally very different to anything else they've done, especially around that time when its contemporaries were films like Kiki and Totoro. I tell people it's my fav Ghibli film, but I've only seen it like twice. Not an enjoyable film, but a very powerful one.
 
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