Open Air | Grave of the Fireflies
A heartbreaking war drama about two orphans trying to survive during the final months of World War II in Japan.Animation is often associated with children's and family films, but movies like Waltz With Bashir (about the Lebanese Civil War) and Persepolis (about a young girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution in Iran) demonstrate that animated films can also tackle complex themes for adult audiences. One of the best examples is the Japanese animation film Grave Of The Fireflies, a war drama whose impact has been compared to Schindler's List by some film critics. The film depicts the devastating effects of war on innocent children. Grave Of The Fireflies is set against the backdrop of the bombing of Kobe in March 1945. Fourteen-year-old Seito and his four-year-old sister Setsuko lost their mother in the bombing; their father was killed while serving in the Japanese navy. The children are therefore left to fend for themselves in famine-stricken Japan.