Tragic EndingsTragic Endings

Grave of the FirefliesIsao Takahata, 1988

Presentation byDesiree Bolster &

Ogechukwu Nnamdi-Emetarom

Tragic ending

● What is a tragic ending ?Tragedy as defined by the dictionary reference “is a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overwhelming force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction”. It is a type of drama in which the protagonist has to go through inevitable hardship .

● A tragic ending is a conclusion to a movie/ story where the fate of the protagonist in an unhappy one.

Cast & CharactersCast & Characters● Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi)- a 14 year old

Japanese boy whose sole responsibility is to take care of his younger sister after their mother dies from the air raidds. He tries to do whatever he can to provide for Setsuko. Isao Takahata, the film's director and screenwriter, said that he was difficult to animate because the facial expressions and posturres of a 14-year old boy, which often appear “unemotional or grumpy or emotionally imbalanced,” are difficult to depict in the exaggerated animation styles.

● Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi)- Seita's 4 year old sister. She is an innocent little girl who's unaware of the war going on throughout the film.

● Mother(Yoshiko Shinohara)- Seita and Setsuko's mother who is badly burned after the attacks on the village and dies at the beginning of the film.

● Aunt (Akemi Yamaguchi)- Seita and Setsuko's aunt who initially lets them in at her home but then grows resentful of them not providing food for the household.

Grave of the Fireflies:Grave of the Fireflies:Movie SynopsisMovie Synopsis

Grave of the Fireflies is a Japanese film based on the autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka.It talks about the experiences of a teenage boy (Seita) and the hardship he goes through during WWII as he strives to protect and provide for his little sister (Setsuko).

After their mother is killed from an air raid, the children find refuge with their hostile aunt and are forced to put up with her fiendish behavior. One day, they got fed up with her attitude and decided to leave and find refuge in a cold barren bomb shelter on the outskirts of town and are left to survive on the little they had left. Setsuko was scared of the dark and they did not have any electricity so they had use fire flies to light up the place at night. They managed to strive under this horrific condition for a couple of days but after a while things got really tough for them. Seita had to steal food and other supplies just so they would survive but it wasn't enough and Setsuko got sick. Seita was forced to withdraw all the money left in his mother's account. While in the bank, he discovered that Japan had lost the war and also that his dad who was a soldier in the Navy was probably dead. He returned to the shelter to find his Seita laying down,starving. He quickly begins preparing food for his sister who is already lost in hallucinations, and dies soon after. Seita cremates Setsuko and also dies of malnutrition a few weeks later.

Firefly SymbolismFirefly Symbolism

Mature fireflies which emit light have extremely short life spans of two to three weeks and are traditionally regarded as a symbol of impermanence, which resonates with much of classical Japanese tradition (as with cherry blossoms). Fireflies are also symbolic of the human soul ("Hitodama"), which is depicted as a floating, flickering fireball.

● Actual Fireflies (Which die and are buried by Setsuko).

● The children themselves, especially Setsuko, who dies at such a young age.

● Kamikaze planes and pilots: Setsuko observes that a passing kamikaze plane looks like a firefly.

● Glowing wood splinters emanating from the cremation of Setsuko

Film TechniquesFilm Techniques

●This movie is strongly influenced by Japanese Animation techniques.

●Character's large eyes show strong emotion.●Water color look creates softness and charm.

●“Pillow shots” or incosequential moments added in between active scenes, adds punctuation to contemplate emotional story. This technique pioneered by great Japanese Director Yasujiro Ozu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9_KCRIDbEXM

VIDEO CLIPVIDEO CLIP

● Click on the link above below to watch video● This is just a 3 min video of a clip compilation of some of the notable scenes in the movie

DiscussionDiscussion

● What is the main lesson from this movie ?

● What character would you consider to be the hero in this movie and why ?

Bibliography

● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_of_the_Fireflies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_KCRIDbEXM

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023

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