Helmed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES ranks among the greatest achievements of Japanese anime. The story follows two young siblings as they travel through the war-ravaged Japanese countryside searching for shelter after the bombing of their home and demise of their mother, in a supremely mournful film that calls into question what is sacrificed when nations clash. Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert championed the film, calling it “an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation” and adding it to his running list of “The Great Movies.” (89 mins.)
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES screens Sunday, July 6 at 4:30pm and Wednesday, July 9 at 7pm in our Whitsell Auditorium (located in the Portland Art Museum). The film is being presented as part of our Kaleidoscopic Visions: Animation Classics series.
Tickets are available online or at the door.
