Grave of the Fireflies Movie Review 1988

In post-war Japan, in the city of Kobe's train station, a young boy lies dying. A janitor finds a metal canister lying next to the boy and when he opens it ashes fall out. As fireflies gather around, ghostly figures of the boy and his little sister appear, as the story flashes back to the orphaned, homeless Seita and his sister. The two youngsters struggle in the Japanese countryside but find they cannot escape the hardships of war and have no chance for survival. Stunning animated testimony to the human spirit. Based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Distribution

Central Park Media/U.S. Manga Corps, 250 W. 57th St., Ste. 317, New York, NY 10107, Phone: (212)977-7456, Toll-free: 800-833-7456, Fax: (212)977-8709, Email: info@teamcpm.com, URL: http://www.centralparkmedia.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 88 minutes.
Originally from Japanese.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Anime, Brothers & Sisters, Survival, Postwar

Screenplay

Isao Takahata

Director

Isao Takahata

Producer

Akiyuki Nosaka, Shinchosha Co.