4 ms·

If we're trading recommendations of harrowing things to watch, may I nominate Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies", the story of two children trying to surv

If we're trading recommendations of harrowing things to watch, may I nominate Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies", the story of two children trying to survive in Japan towards the end of the Second World War in the face of a callous, indifferent world. The only animated feature that is guaranteed to make this grown man weep like there's no tomorrow.

pmoriarty 10y ago
Also check out Barefoot Gen, a manga based on an eyewitness account of the bombing of Hiroshima.[1][2] [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Vol-Cartoon-Hiroshima/dp/0867196025/ https://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Vol-Cartoon-Hiroshima/dp... [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen
- ivanb 10y ago
  There is also an absolutely harrowing anime Barefoot Gen. I remember when it came out on TV (90s Russia) all the kids who saw it were greatly affected.
Anechoic 10y ago
I nominate Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies" It's a great movie, but if you are going to watch, I highly recommend that you don't watch it alone and that you have something "fun" planned afterwords - maybe a fun dumb movie like The Hangover, play with your dog in the park, etc. Do not watch it by yourself and then go to bed. It is really haunting.
ekianjo 10y ago
Excellent movie, but the Grave of the Fireflies does not talk about the end of civilization as we know it, so it's a little out of topic.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  It was certainly the end of civilization as the protagonists knew it.
  - ekianjo 10y ago
    That's not what the end of civilization means at all. It's not like the country had no structure any more. There were still families, bomb shelters and alerts, certainly nothing close to the end of civilization that occurs like in Threads.
- ocschwar 10y ago
  Letting children starve is a marker for the end of civilization as I define it.
  - ekianjo 10y ago
    Did you watch the movie ? The children deliberately chose to live on their own while they could have returned to their aunt - who, despite treating them unfairly, was still feeding them.
    - inopinatus 10y ago
      This remark is so brutally inhumane, so utterly disregarding of human behaviour and lacking in any sympathy or feeling for the most vulnerable that I wish Hacker News had a "block user" button. Maybe I can use custom CSS.

pmoriarty 10y ago

Also check out Barefoot Gen, a manga based on an eyewitness account of the bombing of Hiroshima.[1][2] [1] - https://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Vol-Cartoon-Hiroshima/dp/0867196025/ https://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Gen-Vol-Cartoon-Hiroshima/dp... [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen

ivanb 10y ago
There is also an absolutely harrowing anime Barefoot Gen. I remember when it came out on TV (90s Russia) all the kids who saw it were greatly affected.

Anechoic 10y ago

I nominate Isao Takahata's "Grave of the Fireflies" It's a great movie, but if you are going to watch, I highly recommend that you don't watch it alone and that you have something "fun" planned afterwords - maybe a fun dumb movie like The Hangover, play with your dog in the park, etc. Do not watch it by yourself and then go to bed. It is really haunting.

ekianjo 10y ago

Excellent movie, but the Grave of the Fireflies does not talk about the end of civilization as we know it, so it's a little out of topic.

PhasmaFelis 10y ago
It was certainly the end of civilization as the protagonists knew it.
- ekianjo 10y ago
  That's not what the end of civilization means at all. It's not like the country had no structure any more. There were still families, bomb shelters and alerts, certainly nothing close to the end of civilization that occurs like in Threads.
ocschwar 10y ago
Letting children starve is a marker for the end of civilization as I define it.
- ekianjo 10y ago
  Did you watch the movie ? The children deliberately chose to live on their own while they could have returned to their aunt - who, despite treating them unfairly, was still feeding them.
  - inopinatus 10y ago
    This remark is so brutally inhumane, so utterly disregarding of human behaviour and lacking in any sympathy or feeling for the most vulnerable that I wish Hacker News had a "block user" button. Maybe I can use custom CSS.