Set in Japan in the last days of World War Two, this visually dazzling 1988 animé is a profound and deeply affecting war movie. Directed by Isao Takahata, it underlines the power animation can have in the hands of a true master.
A production of Studio Ghibli, latterly responsible for Spirited Away, Fireflies relates the intensely moving tale of two children forced to fend for themselves after their mother is killed in the firebombing of Kobe. Takahata captures the horror of war with devastating simplicity: the constant air raids, the effects of starvation, the loss of loved ones. No wonder it's been dubbed the Schindler's List of animé.
DVD Extras:
Seventy-one minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes, spread over two discs. These include a historical perspective on the conflict in Japan, short pieces on the film's digital restoration, the entire movie in storyboards and a look at its locations then and now. There are also interviews with Takahata (subtitled) and critic Roger Ebert, who calls Fireflies one of the greatest war movies ever made. He ain't far wrong.
