Background

The Great Society of Movie Watchers came into existance in September of this year. Stephen suggested that a few of us get together every week to watch a movie, and the original idea was to fit the movies into a theme. This past fall we did a run of Hitchcock movies, and managed to make our way through Vertigo, North By Northwest, The Birds, Psycho, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Rope, and Dial M for Murder.

After Christmas, though, we moved away from the constraints of a theme and decided instead to make our selections from a list of movies with great variety: the IMDb Top 250. Each week one club member picks a movie from this list and is in charge of not only procuring a copy of the film, but also debriefing everyone on the background of the movie. We've seen several of the IMDb Top 250 now: Trainspotting, Seven Samurai, Harvey, Duck Soup, Bladerunner, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Grave of the Fireflies.

From now on after we see each movie, the one who picked it will write about the film experience and what everyone thought of the movie. Here is a bit about each club member and the type of movies we enjoy....

Jesse

I always put myself into the shoes of the characters in movies, so I enjoy watching movies to see how characters deal with life. Movie club is cool because it exposes me to movies that I wouldn't usually pick out, but have something to say about the world.

5 all-time favorite movies: The Lives of Others, The Twilight Samurai, Big Fish, Gosford Park, Zoolander
5 all-time least favorite movies: Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Dude, Where's My Car?, E.T., The Holiday, Seven
Movie I Refuse to Watch: Any Saw movie
Favorite Great Society of Movie Watchers (GSMW) film: Harvey
Least Favorite GSMW film: Arsenic & Old Lace

Kyle

I like to escape into the movies that I watch. So I don’t really like drama’s or war film’s. Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comedy is my preferred favorite.

5 all-time favorite movies: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harvey, The Incredible’s, Pirate’s of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and Elf.
5 all-time least favorite movies: King Kong (2005), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Batman (1989), Talladega Nights, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.
Movie I Refuse to Watch: Titanic
Favorite GSMW film: Seven Samurai
Least Favorite GSMW film: Vertigo

Valerie

I love stories, especially when they are beautifully told. I love the immersion into a different world, whether it's realistic or not. I love the history of movies, movie stars, and everything in between.

5 all-time favorite movies: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, That Thing You Do, Singin' in the Rain, Newsies, A League of Their Own
5 all-time least favorite movies: Something's Gotta Give, Robin Hood: Prince of Theives, Donnie Darko, The Royal Tennenbaums, The Fifth Element
Movie I Refuse to Watch: Requiem for a Dream
Favorite GSMW film: Psycho
Least Favorite GSMW film: Blade Runner

Stephen (aka Stevox)

Another time, another place, another universe: I love to escape.

5 all-time favorite movies: Hook, Jurasic Park, The Matrix, Singin' in the Rain, Zoolander
5 all-time least favorite movies: Jurassic Park III, King Kong, The Mask, The Matrix Revolutions, Todo Sobre Mi Madre
Movie I Refuse to Watch: The Shining. I don't think I could handle it.
Favorite GSMW film: Harvey
Least Favorite GSMW film: Arsenic and Old Lace

Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese anime film set just at the end of WWII. It is based on the autobiography by the same name. It centers on a brother and sister, Seita (say-ta) and Setsuko (set-sue-ko) who become orphans as the film progresses. The only goal they have in life is to survive, although we know that the protagonist is fighting a losing battle because the movie opens with him announcing that date in which he dies. The entire movie then becomes a flashback as the ghost of the main character relives the events just before his sister's death with his sister's ghost.

Now the movie is not as weird as this sounds. It's actually very depressing. You watch these kids lose their mother and then move in with their jerk of an aunt, who is not sad to see them leave, even when she does not know where they are going. And then they live in an abandoned shelter and scavenge nature for food.

The movie compares human lives to that of the short lived firefly. We come into the world and are only given so long to burn brightly and then our fire is extinguished. This point is made by comparing the grave that their mother was placed in with the grave that the little sister makes for the fireflies they capture one evening.

On a more interesting note, the film came out as a double feature with Miyazaki's My Neighbor Tototoro. According to Snoop this movie is very whimsical and fun, the complete opposite of the Fireflies. Many people went for Tototoro and left before Fireflies started because they didn't want to be depressed. Interestingly enough, Miyazaki's pitch for Tototoro failed initially until it was backed by the author of the book which Fireflies is based on.

It won the Blue Ribbon Award in 1989 and the Animation Jury and Rights of the Child awards in 1994 at the Chicago International Children's Film festival.

Overall, it is a very poignant film about the horror of war. I cannot recommend this film for the casual movie goer, or even the hardcore viewer. This film is best left to those who desire the intellectual stimulation, and the English classes who have a paper to write.

I give it a 6 out of 10.