Review: Barefoot Gen

Everything changes when the first atomic bomb ever used on a civilian target is dropped over Hiroshima. Flesh melts away in the initial explosion; people are reduced to shadows on the walls behind where they stood. Firestorms blanket the city; people die of a mysterious and unknown illness. Gen and the remaining portion of his family struggle desperately to survive - but also lend help and dignity to others as they can...

The movie has at its core a simple statement: Life goes on. It is a subtext running through almost the entire movie, whereas the folly that led to the Bomb being dropped is touched relatively lightly. The statement you might expect - "This must not be allowed to happen again" - is there, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the Bomb, but the basic message of hope dominates.

This message is in marked contrast to that (allegedly) made by Grave of the Fireflies. As I haven't seen GotF yet, I'm not in a position to say much, but from what I've heard it's a terribly sad film with despair as its central theme, whereas Gen is primarily a message of hope in the midst of unimaginable horror.

No attempt is made to point the finger at the Americans for dropping the Bomb. If anybody is blamed, it is the Japanese high command, who choose to pursue a war which has already been effectively lost. The American bomber and crew are treated impersonally.

Animation quality is not generally high (especially for a feature film) but suits the subject matter. The images surrounding the explosion of the Bomb are horrifyingly well realised, however.

Audio is generally of decent quality, with the period of utter silence as the Bomb explodes focusing the viewer's attention on the horrifying visuals. So far I've only listed to the English dub, which was pretty good.

Packaging is poor - one of those cardboard-cover DVD cases. When the "hub" that holds the DVD breaks, this style of cover risks scratching the DVD, and putting the DVD into a spare case is difficult because the covers can't easily be removed from the remainder of the packaging.