Grave of the Fireflies -------- My Personal Reactions

Yet again this is another war movie. But unlike so many American blockbusters that treat brave soldiers as heroes (such as Pearl Harbor, We were soldiers, Windtalkers, etc.), this one addresses war's brutal impact on innocent civilians, especially children. With the war on Iraq now undergoing, this point has all the more relevance. Under the same American bombing, innocent Iraqi children are now suffering just as much as Seita and Setsuko in this movie have …

…Nowadays things are unfortunately different. Industrialization and modernization have robbed today's children the privilege and pleasure of swimming in little ponds and catching fireflies and grasshoppers on summer nights. In fact I have never ever seen a firefly when I go back every summer since I came to Beijing. For me personally, thereof, the movie in some respects counts more as a nostalgic one remembering good old days than a war movie with profound meanings.