Solar Kitty

While browsing anime on Hulu, I came upon this 1988 Title. Recognizing the art style from Studio Ghibli, I wondered why I had never heard of it or seen it. I quickly read the synopsis and instantly knew it would be fascinating and possibly darker than other movies from their studio. I was right. My heart broke throughout this entire movie. So many scenes were painful to watch, as we empathize with these protagonists on a deeply personal level. Even if you have not experienced war, watching this film will make you feel as though you've been transported back in time for an hour and a half. The characters are instantly likable, and our empathy for Seita as an extremely loving and protective brother is developed as we see him sacrifice his pride and dignity to care for his young sister. This is the experience of a young boy having to be his sister's caregiver and essentially failing as a result of uncontrollable conditions. There is no political ideology or propaganda regarding war in this movie. It does not focus at all on battling in the front line or troops killing one another. It is purely the experience of these two very young protagonists experiencing war as it happened. There are no scenes with violent death, and only one scene with a physically violent confrontation. The remainder of the violence in this movie is implied, and graphic scenes were much fewer and less intense than I had expected for this movie- which added to its appeal. There was absolutely no need for gratuitous violence in the movie. Just a real experience that any human being can have. ----Spoilers Ahead----- Many scenes in this film highlights the basic human instincts for survival, having the viewer experience these feelings too, with our protagonists declaring their needs directly (I'm so hungry... I am so thirsty....I need to use the bathroom) This is something that connects the audience to the character's suffering, as we all know how it feels when you're very hungry, very thirsty, or feel ill. It is a semi-autobiographical story of the writer's experience in the war with his younger sister, to help him process the guilt he felt for what happened. Weaved within the story we can see the author's expression of guilt and desperation as we see scenes of Seita running directly into fire bombed villages to raid and loot for rations while citizens hide in shelters. He scarfs down leftover food and tries to steal anything he can trade or use. On many of these 'expeditions' he leaves his younger sister behind, and as we share the viewpoint with Seita we forget that she is sitting at the bomb shelter alone, with no food or water some hours of the day until he returned at night. It is delicately weaved into the story that Seita has food and water sometimes while he is on his own, and his sister is an afterthought in terms of human survival (the scene where he scarfs down a tomato hungrily, before looking at his sister for a few seconds, and grabbing one for her, or the scene where he is eating from the looted houses but there is not enough food to take with) So much symbolism in this film.. When he finally realizes that they are starving severely, the only advice he gets from a rice farmer is to return to his aunt and swallow his pride. Ultimately- Seita does not do this. This is meant to convey the author's true remorse and guilt that he could have provided more for his sister, and that he feels it is partially his fault for failing in the end. All of this is countered by his tender and caring love for his toddler sister, which we can see is unconditional. We are reminded coldly this way, that he is just a child himself. I ran out of word space, so, this is all I can say.... I do agree with the sentiment of many others, that I probably would not watch this movie again- but I will absolutely never forget it and the journey is worth it.