Grave of The Fireflies movie review

Hotaru Nu Haka(Grave of The Fireflies)

****1/5

Made in Japan in 1988.Also known as 'Hotaru no haka' in Japanese

Is there any bond stronger than 'Love'??.Love which has so much depth that human beings never understand it fully Is there any crime greater than killing humans by humans??

Grave of the Fireflies tells the story during World War 2.U.S bombers used such bombs against Japanese cities which creates fire storms.Among such cities was Kobe.It tells the story of Sieta a young teenager and his sister Setsuko who is 5 years old.Their mother is wrapped in bandage struggling in hospital.Their home,school everything burnt down Then starts one of the most beautiful and hauntingly emotional journey of struggle for survival And also embarks the faith of love between a brother and sister.

Grave of The Fireflies is an animation flick.But the beauty of story is so much realistic that it leaves even a more powerful impact.

The story of survival gets stronger and stronger as the movie moves on. They are given sheltered and food by a relative.But as we know our shadows even leave us in our bad times The brother and sister moves in a hillside cave and their survival story gets even stronger

The story is not only about survival and struggle but also the evil and ghostly effects of war. The story is about love and caring attitude which Sieta shows towards her little sister

The biggest asset of the flick is that it never tries to be melodramatic but it moves like a poetry Some of the most remarkable moments include when they catch fireflies to light up their cave and next morning Sieta finds his sister burying those dead fireflies Another moment is that when Sieta tells her sister that their mother is in hospital and she starts crying For a moment he keeps quiet and then starts rolling trying to make her sister laugh

But the most impactfull and tearjerking moment comes when Sieta brings many things for her sister to eat while she is ill and founds that her sister had made 'rice balls' of 'mud' and asks him to have it.This was one of the most 'Unforgettable' moment of cinematic experience.The truth,the beauty,the love,the struggle,the hunger and the soon the fate they are going to achieve all involve in this scene makes it 'One of the most haunting and depressing moments of a movie'

As being made in Japan many people haven't watched this.But with release of English dubbed DVD it is reaching to more and more people. Watching it feels like a privilege.

Grave of Fireflies is one of the most haunting war films.And in spite of being animated one can feel for the characters which is the biggest triumph of this flick.Elegance,tearjerking,sad and yet so much beautiful and cute

This is the best animated movie which beats all animated movies without having special effects with its touching storyline.Moments and dramatic events are not forced to create impact.But the story moves with so much elegance that the impact is spellbounding.A story told so beautifully that can melt everyone

To sum up this is the most humanly animated flick which connects with our heart more than any human flick.One of the most beautiful and emotional flicks ever.It's a film about death, but the film connects itself with life. This is not only a flick this is a treasure

Pan's Labyrinth movie review

"A long time ago".......
With this line we are drawn straight towards into.....

Laberinto del Fauno, El(Pans Labyrinth)---2006

****1/2

Honestly speaking i have always found fairy tales absolutely childish
Although there remains some magic and cuteness in the flick but
there wasnt any fairy flick which satisfied me or kept totally engaged

Then i came across Pans Labyrinth trailer which caught me and excited me
But later i got disappointed to know that its an spanish flick and its
actual name is Laberinto del Fauno, El.

But again when i saw the reviews(84 positive reviews out of 85) which are
99% positive and also the movie climbed at #155 at Imdb top 250 i couldnot
controlled myself and downloaded this spanish flick

Pans Labyrinth is the story of a young girl who comes with her pregnant mother
to live with her step-father.Story is set in 1944,at the time when the country
was at war.But the girl gets caught in her own fairy and imaginative world

Prior to watching i thought that this flick will be very good but i ended
up watching a flick that is downright extraordirany in every aspect

Its a story which also compels that inspite of so much brutality going on in
world one tries to find peace and happiness by creating another world

There have been uncountable fantasy and fairy flicks but Pans Labyrinth beats
the hell out of every such flicks.This simply blows every others out of the water
Dark yet astonishingly beautiful...extremely brutal at times yet deeply
emotional and touching.Innocence vs brutality,dark vs light and
Fantasy vs Reality all interwooved together this is the fairy/fantasy flick
that i had always been waiting for or i had always dreamed of


Performance by Ivana Baquero(young gal) is nothing sort of extraordinary.
While her display of a gal caught between real and fantasy world left us stunned,
then her emotional display sent us on the verge of tears
Ably supported by Sergi Lopez and Maribel Verdu


But above all this is the flick of director "Guillermo del Toro"
He havent only succeded in making an astounding visually crafted flick
but also in unique style of storytelling.And all bow to him for making a fairy
flick that is for "grown ups".
And one must admire him for his unique vision and imagination and furthermore
finally being able to convert his vision into a masterpiece,
both as writer and director


Apart from the mesmerizing visuals,deeply touching storyline,extremely brtual
and dark scenes i would like to mention about its haunting and sad music.
Its one of the best i have heard in years if not the best.

kudos to Guillermo del Toro for creating a dark,beautiful,brutal and deeply
emotional fantasy flick which connects with our heart

Apparently Pans Labyrinth won over 20 minutes of standing ovation at Cannes,after
the flick ended.That says something

Finally,Pans labyrinth should definitely win Foreign language Oscar for best
flick if not the best Oscar in hollywood category

Stunning,amazing,spectacular,instant classic,extraordinary,masterpiece are some
of the proverbs that can be attached with Pans Labyrinth
Its sensitive as well as shocking

Pans Labyrinth is such a magical labyrinth which viewers dont want to leave
even after the flick gets over.

Bottomline:Its not only magical and visually appealing but it connects with our heart
and its deeply touching and emotional.A not to be missed by viewers who loves quality
cinema.A prime example of cinema which have got amazing direction,brilliant execution,astounding screenplay and a powerful script
A real cinematic masterpiece in true and every sense

4.5/5