This review will contain spoilers, ramblings, and intense takes. Proceed with caution.

The movie is this. Irresponsible dickhead causes the death of his sister for no fucking reason. Supposed to feel sad for this fucking asshole im just pissed off.

Fuck this movie but goddamn it looks beautiful. Seita you are a piece of shit just listen to your aunt bro its not that big of a deal, why the FUCK did you wait until the end of the goddamn movie to save your sister you imbecile. YOU WAITED TILL YOUR SISTER WAS LITERALLY FUCKING DYING OF MALNURITION BEFORE DECIDING TO USE YOUR PITIFUL SAVINGS TO TRY AND BUY HER SOME FOOD YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! And before you say anything, no, thats not the point of the movie. The movie genuinely wants me to feel bad for this horrible brother. Making himself die at the end is a wild piece of work from the autobiographical standpoint because he AVOIDS ANY SELF REFLECTION!!!

And to show this hatred comes from a place of genuine understanding, I'll try and articulate what the film was displaying. Seita, desiring to run away from a horrific reality, believes he can take care of his sister due to a completely warped sense of family values and priorities. He thinks, because he is a kid, that his father will come to save them soon, and that he can survive with just his sister. Hell, he even moves to try and hide the fact that his mother died because the Auntie was a bitch and was going to tell her eventually. I get it all. But where I draw the line is this; Where is the self reflection? The author of the book lives past the death of his sister, and reflects on his mistakes. That is the entire point of his autobiography. But the film shows him dying at the beginning. Is this representative of the death of innocence? Or is this a cop out for the film to get away from any form of narrative blame going on Seita? (Whether the film harbors a nationalistic meaning is entirely subjective, but iirc there was an interview in which Taka states that the film has the intent of a pro nationalist japanese stance.)

My real logical obstacle with this film is this; he is desperately trying to feed his sister? Well hes not doing anything to help despite clear rashes, and when the doctor tells him she needs food and he responds “how am I supposed to get any!” DESPITE HAVING FUCKING MONEY SAVED FOR NO REAL REASON!!! The death of his family is tragic, but I cannot see any logical way for the film to be tragic, outside of the death of Seita’s mother. Therefore it receives this incredibly low rating, despite the admittedly beautiful scenery, soundtrack, and gripping storytelling in the first 45 minutes. Maybe my hatred of the film shows its merit, but to me this was a reductive and entirely pointless film.