Start the week with a film: ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ is a heartbreaking tale of sibling love

Netflix has almost the entire catalogue of the Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli – except for one of its older masterpieces. Grave of the Fireflies (1988), directed by the company’s co-founder Isao Takahata, had been excluded due to problems about rights. The film will finally be available on the platform from Monday.

Takahata’s emotionally wrenching work is a departure from his own films as well as other Ghibli productions. Grave of the Fireflies is a tragedy about siblings who cope with degrees of loss during World War II – of their parents, stability, and honour after their country’s military defeat.

Kobe resident Seita is forced to become a parent to his younger sister Setsuko after his mother’s death in a bombing. His father is away, serving in the Japanese Navy. American planes spread carnage through Kobe, reducing the city to rubble.

Seita has no time to mourn. He takes Setsuko to a relative’s home in a town that has not yet been affected by the war. Here, brother and sister get a break from their privations. They take comfort in the small pleasures of life, such as fireflies that are caught in the hand or a visit to the beach.

The hardship forced on the Japanese catches up with the siblings soon enough. The...

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