Grave of the Fireflies
10 out of 10 It seems IMDB doesn’t let you rate a film as 11 out of 10. That’s a pity because this one blew me away like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Grave of the Fireflies is a Studio Ghibli animation following the tale of a 14 year old boy and his 4 year old sister, struggling to survive in war-time Japan. Heart-breaking from the start, I was so glad I chose to watch this alone. Had I had to stifle my emotions, it would have ruined the experience. As it was, I was an absolute mess by the end, tears burning my eyes and rolling down my face. In fact, I was a mess by half way, but it just kept on coming. It’s relentless. While it’s primarily the story that makes this a great movie, it’s brilliantly supported by both the artwork and the music. The characters themselves may be typically simplistic in their appearance, but the humanity in their body language is superb and the background artwork exquisite. The music, too, is perfectly pitched to...