When the Wind Blows: Jimmy Murakami

Jimmy Murakami's When the Wind Blows is the anti-Grave of the Fireflies. Isao Takahata's film is a masterpiece, make no mistake. But it takes every single opportunity to tug on the audience's heartstrings. It uses every single emotionally manipulative tactic imaginable. But the characters in When the Wind Blows approach the destructive nature of war with a stiff upper lip. They try their damndest to downplay and ignore the devastation caused by the nuclear apocalypse. And because of this, their suffering and eventual demise hit harder than the death of Setsuko, at least in my opinion. When the Wind Blows is one long, unendurable tragedy that hurts the very soul long before the bomb is actually dropped (the announcement of which, I might add, comes at exactly the 30 minute mark). The film made me reflect on my own mortality and through this made me feel like I was dying along with the protagonists. In my eyes, it is the greatest film about nuclear weapons ever made.

9/10