The film is set during World War II in a German-occupied European country. In a covered truck on a snow-covered road, the Germans are transporting a group of civilians. Thoughts of imminent death inevitably visit the passengers of the van. The Catholic priest accompanying the arrested, among whom there is a boy, prepares the companions to leave for another world. A complex psychological conflict arises between the priest and the boy. Circumstances develop in such a way that the boy manages to escape.
If you were to watch it on streaming when you have nothing to do, it’s still probably a giant waste of time, but you could do far worse. Paying $18 for a movie ticket and who knows how much for concessions turns this from an exercise in boredom to an exercise in frustration.
I am shocked and upset to report that the movie about a female car mechanic who meets the love of her life online featuring Katy O’Brien does not, in fact, have a lesbian storyline.
My Beautiful Laundrette is often referenced as a positive LGBTQIA+ film because our two main characters are in a homosexual relationship with no shame, fear of violence or criticism. The struggle is not their sexuality. It is the treatment of the Pakistani citizens in England.
Disney+ recently released six short films entitled the “Launchpad” collection in which diverse directors tell diverse stories. These shorts are exactly the kind of films we here at Incluvie want to see more of. These are stories of intersectionality, inclusion, and diversity. And every short stars a cluvie!
What seems like such a simple story of survival is so much more than that—it’s a story of family, and of war, and of destruction. It’s painful to watch, but not in a bad way. It makes its audience reflect on their own actions, and in how they are complicit in the sufferings of others as the adults in this film are. Grave of the Fireflies does not hold back from being heartbreaking, and it shouldn’t. It tells a message that needs to be heard decades after the war, and a story that cannot be forgotten by history.
