In This Corner of the World
The latest in a series of tear-jerking anime movies to make their way over to North American theatres is a coming-of-age story set in 1940s Hiroshima. In This Corner of the World, a tender World War II anime rendered with hand-drawn animation, has opened to theatres across the US.
Suzu Urano is an artist and young wife who leaves home to move in with her husband’s family in Hiroshima. When her small town of Kure is bombed, she takes on the burden of rebuilding her and her loved ones’ lives, foraging food and constructing shelters.
Studio Mappa produced the film, which was inspired by an eponymous manga written and illustrated by Fumiyo Komo. So far, critics are really loving it. Look for our impressions later this week.
Comments
6 responses to “Anime Film About Hiroshima Bombing Opens In U.S. Theatres”
This movie need only be given one of two ratings: more emotional than grave of the fireflies OR less emotional than grave of the fireflies.
Also it’s currently showing at the Melbourne international film festival for anyone who is interested.
Oh nice, thanks for the heads up.
Details here for anyone else interested:
http://miff.com.au/program/film/in-this-corner-of-the-world
Saying that this film is “About the Hiroshima Bombing” is kind of thin-slicing it, that’s like saying Grave of the Fireflies is “About the Firebombing of Tokyo”. That certainly happens in the film, but it’s about the human drama behind it, about how people change to cope with events and so on.
US promotes anime feature set during war as anti war film, again.
Having beem there, I don’t think it’d be possible to create a film set with the backdrop of WW2, focusing on the people in Hiroshima, and not have it come off as an anti-war film.
My issue is more that they’re representing it as if that’s *all* the film is about, and it’s not.
Makes sense. I’m with Neg. The memorial in Hiroshima made me want to throw up a couple times. You can’t explore the bombing in any depth and come away with anything but an anti-war message.