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A+ |
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| Story: |
A+ |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A+ |
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A touching anti-war film (Hope this helps)
by K. (movies profile)
Dec 26, 2007
4
of
4 people found this review helpful
Ebert was right; this IS one of the best anti-war films ever. Two children leave their aunt when she starves them, only to find survival a struggle. For those of you who ask "Why didn't they just return to the aunt?" the evidence is in the rash, the first sign of malnutrition, which appears on them even at the beach. When the aunt doles out food the male and the daughter get the best and the two children barely get the broth; had they stayed they would have starved eventually anyways. Clearly if they were to return later, when rationining becomes worse, they would never be taken back. The daughter also appears ashamed as she watches, yet does not say anything at all. The aunt also gives them a jar of rice, in exchange for kimonos worth at least several bags. She also eats the food they get. There is a sort of jealously there; they're father is a high-ranking officer so they get the best. From her actions it is safe to assume that she took them in expecting to take their fine food, in exchange for watching them for only a few days. Her true nature shines forth more clearly when the mother dies.
None of the adults, even though they could help a little, seem to willing to strech out a hand to aid the orphans. Even in a time of need, where survival depends on a certain degree of heartlessness, this is harsh. The system has failed the children. Bringing up Japanese wartime atrocities will change nothing because these are civilians, failed by their own
country, and children, who are suffering for the idiocy of their leaders. Pearl harbor does not justify bombin a country
that is suffering for something they may not even understand fully.
The barbaric relashions of napalm have lots of oil, so water only spreads it. If it hits your skin it is hard to put it out
and continues burning. Those bombs are horrible creations. If anyone stands near it before it goes off, as their mother
must have, they would be burned very badly indeed. These were civiilians dying for foolish leaders; anyone who says women
and children msut suffer, that they deserved it and so did the children, has deep-seated issues. As polsitical as this movie is it makes a good point; was is bad. And may I remind you that americans suffered very little in any war on the home front with the exception of a few wars fought on american soil, and we delayed a long time before entering World War Two, and later put Japanese-Americans who had been living here for generations in veritable concentration camps.
What is also heartbreaking is that this film is based off of an autobiography; in real life the male survived and wrote of his story. Another interesting fact is that this film breaks so many rules, for instance showing the ending at the start. Yet it works because you spend the whole film hoping beyond belief that this time it will be better. There are some smile-worthy moments and the joys of the four year old girl are well portrayed.
These are a selection of some things we noticed when watching. Some spoilers ahead.
Fireflies: the souls of the dead, fairly obvious. When the firefly clinging to the wall dies it could very well be a foreshadowing of the death of their father. When the two fireflies rise up, there is hope that things will be better for the children from then onward. There's also the mass-grave parallel as the girl buries them, it also shows she accepts her mother's death.
The Can of fruit drops: as the movie progresses and their situation becomes more dire, the can gets increasing battered. By the end it is so beat up one can hardly tell what it is. Also of note, the candy runs out right before they leave the aunts. It could be a metaphor for the situation they are in. The doll would then be the little girl's health deteriorating.
Flies and maggots in this movie equal death throughout. When we see her collaped (the doll has fallen), we see the fly on her and know; foreshadowing. The mudballs, the imitation riceballs she's made, show us that she has been eating mud for a very long time. The ring he told her to keep also vanishes, one wonders if the aunt took it. When he does gymnastics he is working to disract himself as well. The ants with their crumbs seem almost to be faring better then the children.
The turning point in this movie comes about when the doctor tells him the only way she can get better is to get food into her. They both know that the stealing he is doing is wrong, and he does not want to lose her respect now that she's seen him caught and beatten. Her continued love for him is what causes him to break down. The moment is which she forces him away after he rolls to her in bed reminds us that he craves comfort, though he is a big brother to him, no one is there to nurture him. |
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