Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Grave of the Fireflies ::
by William the Bloody
This film is a Japanese animated feature and it won the First Prize as Best Animated Feature at the 1994 Chicago International Children's Film Festival. This film is extraordinarily beautiful, but I don't find its subject matter to be entirely appropriate for children.
That being said, this film takes place in Japan during World War II. It is very rare that you find a WWII film which does not take place from the USA's point of view, or have nothing to do with the frontlines of battle, soldiers or combat. This film is a bout a family, torn asunder by the constant bombings, air raids, and the shortness of supplies. Father is in the navy and not present, mother is killed in an air raid, and the two young children are left to fend for themselves, where society offers little help. The movie is very honest in its depiction of war on the common person, and the lows someone will stoop just to survive when offered no alternative. The son tries his best to care for his young sister, but finds it difficult to explain death, war and why the food she likes is impossible to come by.
Director Isao Takahata is to be complimented for this films beauty. The backgrounds are colorful and well painted, the animation is extraordinary, especially for its time (1988). I find that the art style of this film is very reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki, who brought us such delights as Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.
I don't like it when animated features are assumed to be strictly for children, and this film is a great example of that. This film is indeed wonderful, but anyone under 10-12 might not fully understand the effects of war. This movie depicts the planes flying overhead and shedding bombs onto a populated civilian area, often times to the point of leveling the entire community. Also, the movie shows us the mother after she fell victim to one such bombing and suffered severe burns over her entire body and dies days later. We also get to see the mass grave that mother is dumped into. And finally, the two children die. I'm not ruining anything here, since this is where the movie starts from and then goes back to show us the events leading to it. They don't die as a direct result of the bombings or anything so simple either. It is a long, drawn out death, of starvation, malnutrition and a loss of hope. Anyone who thinks a child in kindergarten should watch this is crazy.
Yes, this film is bleak, but amazing. It is beautifully sad.
A
