Isao Takahata’s Hotaru no Haka (The Grave of the Fireflies, 1988) is a brilliant piece of cinema. Set in Kobe, Japan, in 1945, the film focuses on a brother and sister who are left orphaned and homeless by the American firebombing of the city. It is unflinching in its portrayal of the realities of the war, a harrowing account of what such attacks meant for the ordinary people living in the target area. The children’s innocence and love for each other is no defence against the trials they face: their suffering is very real, their story a classic tragedy. That The Grave of the Fireflies is animated rather than live-action does not distract from its power to move, to provoke thought, to draw tears from the eyes. It is a masterpiece.

An adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, The Grave of the Fireflies pulls none of the punches of the source. The novel is a guilt-ridden apology to Nosaka’s sisters, who died during World War II, as did Nosaka’s adoptive father. Survivor’s guilt and a sense of personal failure combine to make the book difficult to read on an emotional level, and the film, scripted by the director, keeps these themes, making it equally emotional viewing.

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I’ve always had a thing for remakes and sequels, remakes especially. While sequels almost inevitably attempt to re-create the same formula that was so successful in the original installment, with remakes you are opening a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. Sometimes you’ll get the exact same movie (Psycho), other times you will get something stylistically different but just as effective as the original (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but on those extra special occasions you’ll get something not just wholly different but just as unique a creation as the original (The Bicycle Thief/Pee Wee’s Big Adventure). And one of my favorite childhood movies just happened to be a remake, only I didn’t know it at the time and the director refuses to acknowledge it as such, and that was Star Wars (The Hidden Fortress).

Show me a child of the 80’s that didn’t like Star Wars and I will show you a liar. While Star Wars captivated nearly everyone’s imagination it might as well have been crack cocaine to my adolescent brain. I was a junkie from the moment I saw that first Star Destroyer appear on screen. This addiction has followed me well into adulthood. I own the movies, the television shows, the television movies; I even have a copy of the infamous Holiday Special. I have posters and books and Japanese sculptures of several characters and I have the toys. Oh the toys, toys, toys. (more…)