Grave of the Fireflies 1988
Director: Isao Takahata
Plot: Set in the city of Kobe, Japan, the film tells the story of two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of the Second World War.
My chosen scene: The scene I have chosen is where Seita imagines his father on his battle ship and Seita proudly imagines him fighting for them. Once his daydream fades he looks at the sleeping Setsuko and cuddles in beside her and clings to her tightly only to be shoved away by the cranky sleeping little one. The next morning we find a crying Setsuko making a grave for all the dead fireflies and asks why do the die so quickly. Seita fights back his tears as flashbacks of his dead mothers body is thrown into a mass grave. He fights his tears and reassures Setsuko that they will visit their mothers grave someday and pretends shes buried in a lovely graveyard somewhere.
I found this scene quite heart wrenching and it's clear to see that these two children are really beginning to struggle to survive with so little in a time where only death and destruction surrounds them yet they both try to make the most of what they have and try to stay smiling.
Characters
Seita: A young boy who is the main character of this movie. Now that his mother is deceased and they don't know where their father is, it's left to him to look after his very young sister. He has a very positive personality and stays strong for the sake of his sister. He really puts his sister first and gives her treats to cheer her up. Seita in the scene I have chosen obviously is beginning to have worries about their future welfare and wonders where their father is. It's obviously tough on poor Seita, being young himself who suddenly has to take on an adult role of looking after his family.He is forced to trades everything they have for food and necessities to keep them going. He mourns his mother and the thought of her body being thrown ito a mass grave haunts him but he hides his tears for the sake of his sister. In this scene Seita is wearing very shabby white vest and dirty torn brown trousers and wears traditional Japanese wooden sandles.
Setsuko: Seita's toddler sister. A bubbley, playful and sweet little girl who has a taste for fruit drops. Being as young as she is she counts on her older brother to look after her and trusts him completely. I believe she doesn't fully understand whats going on but she is obviously taught what to do in the case of an air raid. She whines and cries a lot which is understandable for a little girl her age who gets tired of walking or sulks. It is also clear that she was very close with her mother and her mother's death always weighs on her mind. She connects the burial of the fireflies with the burial of her mother. Setsuko never saw her mother during the time she was injured and then buried. I imagine because it would be too traumatic for her but she seems to struggle to come to terms with her mothers death. However Setsuko manages surprisingly well through her ordeal but in this scene you can see her strength is wearing thin. Setsuko is wearing a shabby white/ grey tshirt and blue patterned pants along with wooden sandles. Japanese casual female toddler clothes.
Settings
The scene I have chosen starts at 54:58 and ends at 57:45. It is set in the an old abandoned bomb shelter where Seita and Setsuko decide to move after basically being told to move out by there deceased mothers friend because she considers them a nuisance. Seita dreams of his father in the army and wonders where he is. This particular part of the scene is set at night before they go to sleep. In the morning outside their new home Setsuko is making a grave for the dead fireflies. Their new little home is situated o the bank of a small river/ lake.
Mise en Scene
There are not any significant imagery visible in my chosen scene that I can see. The handful of dead fireflies could signify losing one's light, meaning death. Fireflies come up several times in the film as Setsuko was particularly fascinated by them. Light of hope perhaps?
Camera Work
Sounds and Music
The scene mainly contains dialogue and sound effects. It begins with Seita singing a military type national anthem as he pretends to be in the army and makes gun shot sounds. He hums the song as he lies down to settle down to sleep. There is complete silence except for the croaking of frogs in the background and the rustling of the two moving around in bed/ futon. There is a very short song of a flute as the two settle down to sleep for the night. In the morning they're are the sounds of birds around the lake. There is then the clanging sound of the metal bucket as Seita moves it around with the ongoing bird songs and the sound of his footsteps. As Seita converses with Setsuko you can hear the rustling sounds of dead fireflies in her hands as she buries them. Sniffling sounds as Seita holds back his tears. A calming piano melody plays in the background as Seita composes himself and knees down to reassure the upset Setsuko. The last bit of dialogue is where Setsuko asks why fireflies die so soon and the two then pause in silence while the piano melody continues to play to the end of the scene.
Plot: Set in the city of Kobe, Japan, the film tells the story of two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, and their desperate struggle to survive during the final months of the Second World War.
My chosen scene: The scene I have chosen is where Seita imagines his father on his battle ship and Seita proudly imagines him fighting for them. Once his daydream fades he looks at the sleeping Setsuko and cuddles in beside her and clings to her tightly only to be shoved away by the cranky sleeping little one. The next morning we find a crying Setsuko making a grave for all the dead fireflies and asks why do the die so quickly. Seita fights back his tears as flashbacks of his dead mothers body is thrown into a mass grave. He fights his tears and reassures Setsuko that they will visit their mothers grave someday and pretends shes buried in a lovely graveyard somewhere.
I found this scene quite heart wrenching and it's clear to see that these two children are really beginning to struggle to survive with so little in a time where only death and destruction surrounds them yet they both try to make the most of what they have and try to stay smiling.
Characters
Seita: A young boy who is the main character of this movie. Now that his mother is deceased and they don't know where their father is, it's left to him to look after his very young sister. He has a very positive personality and stays strong for the sake of his sister. He really puts his sister first and gives her treats to cheer her up. Seita in the scene I have chosen obviously is beginning to have worries about their future welfare and wonders where their father is. It's obviously tough on poor Seita, being young himself who suddenly has to take on an adult role of looking after his family.He is forced to trades everything they have for food and necessities to keep them going. He mourns his mother and the thought of her body being thrown ito a mass grave haunts him but he hides his tears for the sake of his sister. In this scene Seita is wearing very shabby white vest and dirty torn brown trousers and wears traditional Japanese wooden sandles.
Setsuko: Seita's toddler sister. A bubbley, playful and sweet little girl who has a taste for fruit drops. Being as young as she is she counts on her older brother to look after her and trusts him completely. I believe she doesn't fully understand whats going on but she is obviously taught what to do in the case of an air raid. She whines and cries a lot which is understandable for a little girl her age who gets tired of walking or sulks. It is also clear that she was very close with her mother and her mother's death always weighs on her mind. She connects the burial of the fireflies with the burial of her mother. Setsuko never saw her mother during the time she was injured and then buried. I imagine because it would be too traumatic for her but she seems to struggle to come to terms with her mothers death. However Setsuko manages surprisingly well through her ordeal but in this scene you can see her strength is wearing thin. Setsuko is wearing a shabby white/ grey tshirt and blue patterned pants along with wooden sandles. Japanese casual female toddler clothes.
Settings
The scene I have chosen starts at 54:58 and ends at 57:45. It is set in the an old abandoned bomb shelter where Seita and Setsuko decide to move after basically being told to move out by there deceased mothers friend because she considers them a nuisance. Seita dreams of his father in the army and wonders where he is. This particular part of the scene is set at night before they go to sleep. In the morning outside their new home Setsuko is making a grave for the dead fireflies. Their new little home is situated o the bank of a small river/ lake.
Mise en Scene
There are not any significant imagery visible in my chosen scene that I can see. The handful of dead fireflies could signify losing one's light, meaning death. Fireflies come up several times in the film as Setsuko was particularly fascinated by them. Light of hope perhaps?
Camera Work
- Low angle shot as Seita pretends to fight off enemies. Camera follows him as he sits up and aims his imaginary gun.
- View of Seita's back.
- View of Seita's side profile as he wonders where his father is.
- High angle over the shoulder shot as he looks at Setsuko.
- View of Seita's side profile.
- View of Seita and Setsuko lying in bed at an angle above their head.
- Camera follows Seita as he cuddles Setsuko.
- View of Seita's side of the bed.
- View of Seita and Setsuko's feet and bum.
- View of dimming fireflly and fade to black.
- Established shot of the lake.
- Establishing shot of Seita and Setsuko outside their little home on the pathway.
- Front view of Seita as he asks Setsuko whats she doing on the ground.
- Zoom in focus on Seita's face.
- Focus zoom on Setsuko hands full of dead fireflies. Camera follows hands as she takes a handful and moves them to the hole.
- Flashback. Low angle as mothers body is thrown into a mass grave.
- High angle close up of Setsuko burying fireflies.
- Zoom in focus on Seita's crying face.
- Zoom focus side profile of Seita's face as he fights his tears.
- High angle from the top of the hill/ bank of the two.
- Zoom focus side profile of Seita's face.
- Back view/ slightly over the shoulder shot as Seita kneels down to Setsuko.
- Slow pan upwards as Seita looks t the lake.
- Zoom on Setsuko "Why do fireflies have to die so soon?"
- End of scene: View from back inside the little house looking out the doorway at Seita and Setsuko.
Sounds and Music
The scene mainly contains dialogue and sound effects. It begins with Seita singing a military type national anthem as he pretends to be in the army and makes gun shot sounds. He hums the song as he lies down to settle down to sleep. There is complete silence except for the croaking of frogs in the background and the rustling of the two moving around in bed/ futon. There is a very short song of a flute as the two settle down to sleep for the night. In the morning they're are the sounds of birds around the lake. There is then the clanging sound of the metal bucket as Seita moves it around with the ongoing bird songs and the sound of his footsteps. As Seita converses with Setsuko you can hear the rustling sounds of dead fireflies in her hands as she buries them. Sniffling sounds as Seita holds back his tears. A calming piano melody plays in the background as Seita composes himself and knees down to reassure the upset Setsuko. The last bit of dialogue is where Setsuko asks why fireflies die so soon and the two then pause in silence while the piano melody continues to play to the end of the scene.
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