see

Opening today

“Doom”

“Down and Derby”

“Dreamer”

“Kids in America”

“North Country”

“Stay”

“Work and the Glory: American Zion”

Coming next week

“The Legend of Zorro”

“Prime”

“Saw II”

“The Weather Man”

Movie questions

Q: About eight years ago, while living in my native town of Staten Island, N.Y., I saw on the FLIX network a Japanese animated film about two children who had survived the atomic bomb blast and lived with their aunt and uncle. I never could catch the entire broadcast, but I believe they were searching for their mother whom they later discovered injured in a hospital. Is this film by any chance on DVD or VHS? I would love to see it in its entirety.

– B.E., Glasgow, Va.

A: Sure, hit upon a major weakness for me – a lack of appreciation for anime – surprising given the depth of storytelling in the genre. I just can’t get past the style of animation. However, this one took some serious digging because anime, as a rule, is usually about cheerful subjects – not. There are any number of films in the genre that use an atomic holocaust as a plot point, and I have to confess that, at first, yours sounded a lot like the classic “Akira.” But I’m assuming that you meant the dropping of the A-bomb on Japan, so, to me, that only leaves “Grave of the Fireflies,” an anime movie with the plot you describe that is considered a classic in the genre. You’ll be happy to know that you can find it on DVD and VHS from assorted e-tailers.

– George M. Thomas, Knight Ridder

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