Grave of the Fireflies or Hotaru no Haka
is a 1988 Japanese animated war drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata. This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work. It is an adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, intended as a personal apology to the author's own sister.
Roger Ebert considers it to be one of the most powerful anti-war movies ever made. Animation historian Ernest Rister compares the film to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and says, "it is the most profoundly human animated film I've ever seen."<1>...
There is a full description of the movie at wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_FirefliesWe rented this at the video store (in Japan) many years ago, and watched it with our children when they were about 9 or ten. Their school also introduced the children to it at I believe, around the 6th grade or so; I don't know how standardized that is but I believe all shildren see it in school when relatively young.
A mild warning, the movie can be troubling in that it deals with death in a manner that most aren't accustomed to. There are no bloody, violent graphics (it is about war) but being prepared for some of the questions it might raise in a child is probably a good ides.
If I remember right, (it has been a while) these references might be handy.
One rule of etiquette that every child is hectored to adhere to by all familiar adults is to "eat every grain of rice in your bowl". That's because until modern times, famine has been an integral part the worldview. It would be a rare generation of Japanese that didn't live though some time of regional disaster that would lead to famine regional famine. The value of food is never allowed to be forgotten.
Another is that you should not stick your chopsticks into your food point first, upright and together, because that it the way a bowl of rice is prepared to be left as an offering at the grave of loved ones.
Last is that two people should not pick up a the same piece of food at the same time with their chopsticks. If someone has a large portion to take out of the serving dish and needs help, it should be offered by sliding your chopsticks under the food and lifting while the second person pinches the food to keep it stable.
The reason is that after cremation, the two closest family members perform a ceremony where, with the 'two pinch grip' denied them for food, they jointly retrieve each remaining bone from the ashes and place each in the interment jar. The jar remains in the home for a period of from 30-90 days usually, by which time any far flung family will hopefully have heard of the passing (naikunata, literally 'become not') and had time to join in the wake.
It is available online in English.
I hope you see it and I hope you enjoy it. It contains important lessons that we, as Americans and to some extent as people, seem to have forgotten.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
