SBS recently showed a series of Japanese anime by the director Hayayo Miyazuki. We started watching Nausicaa: Valley of the Winds and got strangely hooked by its storyline and production. In the following weeks we watched Howl's Moving Castle, Laputa, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. Drew remembered Porco Rosso for some years before but the other films were a revelation. I especially loved Laputa, Castle in the sky and Howl's Moving Castle. The stories were fascinating and the animation fantastic. Although the stories are set some time in an imaginary past, the machines and contraptions are just delightful and believable. Who can not be impressed by the moving castle?
The week after that series ended they showed Isho Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies. Takahata is an assistant of Miyazaki's but he made Grave of the Fireflies by himself. It's based on a Japanese story set at the end of WW2. The city (I believe it is Kobe) is continually fire-bombed by the Americans, the two children's mother is killed and they are left to fend for themselves. Seita looks after his little sister Setsuko and they live in an abandoned bomb shelter until Setsuko dies of malnutrition. Seito has nothing to live for and he dies just as the Americans land.
It sounds so depressing but there is such a joy in the love between the siblings and a happiness in most things they do together. It is a profoundly moving and unforgettable film, and because it is anime, it seems to have more impact than if it was made with real actors. I don't think I've been so affected by a film in a long time.
2 comments:
Anime really seems to grab you, I remember all those shows Ramon and I used to watch on a Saturday night, we didn't like to miss them! These sound just lovely!
I LOVE Howl's Moving Castle - I have the DVD - and the book, written by Diana Wynne Jones, is fantastic too. It's a YA fantasy, a fairly short book, and a bit different from the movie, but both equally good in their own way :)
I really like Spirited Away as well. We didn't like Kiki's Delivery Service, it was a bit dull. The other one I've seen is Princess Mononoku, which is quite strange.
I haven't heard of Grave of the Fireflies but it sounds good. I'll keep an eye out for it. I keep seeing Porco Rosso in the video shop - maybe I should check that one out too.
~ Shan
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