Have you ever ever had somebody present you considered one of their favourite films solely to have them begin sobbing as quickly as they hit “Play?”
That’s what occurred to me. I used to be 20 and had solely been seeing this individual for a month. At first I gave their regular stream of heavy tears the side-eye. Why are you crying? Nothing has occurred but. However, by the tip of these 89 minutes, I used to be an emotional wreck. Devastated. Perpetually modified. If I had been watching that film for a second time, I might have been crying from the beginning proper together with them. So a few years later, I’m nonetheless haunted by a very tragic scene. It’s burned into my mind.
So what film may elicit such a response? What film might be so totally, heartbreakingly unhappy that it’s at all times talked about within the feedback if it by chance will get left off an inventory of the saddest films? In the present day, we’re speaking in regards to the animated Studio Ghibli film from 1988, Grave of the Fireflies, and you’ll watch it on Netflix.
Sure, an animated movie is the saddest film ever made.
I do know what a few of you might be saying. How may an animated film be the saddest of all time? But when the primary couple of minutes of Up are any indication, compelling and dramatic storytelling might be efficient in any kind. And in relation to the storyline informed in Grave of the Fireflies, how may you not be unhappy? Right here’s a short spoiler-free rundown:

Set in Kobe, Japan in the course of the Pacific Struggle of World Struggle II between America and Japan, Grave of the Fireflies follows large brother Seita and little sister Setsuko. After their mom dies, they try to survive the battle at their aunt’s, surrounded by energetic bombings, air raids, and a scarcity of ample meals. They each quickly notice that holding their standing as battle orphans a secret has lasting penalties.
Is Grave of the Fireflies based mostly on a real story?
Even with out figuring out any of the background for the making of Grave of the Fireflies, it’s nonetheless the saddest film ever made, but the added context can’t be ignored. The movie relies on the semi-autobiographical brief story written by Akiyuki Nosaka. His relationship with considered one of his sisters intently matches that of the movie and brief story, together with the tragic means through which the story ends. Maintain this in thoughts as you watch the story unfold.
Grave of the Fireflies is a film to be shared.
There’s a connection that winds collectively those that have watched this film. There are grave, figuring out nods between folks as they notice they’ve each seen Grave of the Fireflies. It’s a type of films you’ll advocate, not as a result of the film is “good,” however as a result of its story will depart an indelible mark on anybody who sees it, giving a imaginative and prescient of battle that many within the Western world by no means see. Would I like to recommend watching it a second or third time, as my date did so a few years in the past? Under no circumstances, nevertheless it ought to be seen by everybody a minimum of as soon as.
Watch Grave of the Fireflies now on Netflix. (With a full field of tissues and a comforting family pet.)