Review of Fires on the Plain (2015) by Alex C — 09 Jul 2011

This is probably the most arid depiction of World War ll and the most gruesome and disturbing portrayal of the soldiers, particularly the Japanese, depicted in their most depressive state, contradictorily to what we've always seen in Hollywood epic portraits of the heroes of war.

The purpose is, as the filmmaker said in an interview, to show the horror of war, which is shown greatly realistic to one's standard. But the result is far greater an impact. It's not just visually fascinating at large, but also comparatively more compelling from its moral perspective than any other war-themed films.

The film is largely driven by the characters, who, at times are so incredibly surreal, make it hard to believe that you are watching a movie, not a war documentary. The vague climax at the end of the film contributes to its dream-like state, as the audience doesn't really aware thoroughly if Tamura approached the fires on the plain at one point before, or actually, after he met Nagamatsu.

No one knows what really happens; whether the Nagamatsu incident was truly happens or was only a dream. Considering the nature of the film, I'd like to think such possibility. Besides, the film lays on much prone-for-discussion subject such as morality and fatalism, among other things.

If Tamura surrendered to the Americans, he would not starve to the point of near-death. If Tamura has approached the farmers earlier, he'd probably be able to steal food. The more we look into the issues, the more we become entangled to bargain the character's life.

The film's trying to be honest to its portrayal of the soldiers against any banality of political war-themed films, and it succeeds through the shaping of the characters.