327:". Tamura is bullied into giving his grenade to Yasuda, the canny superior whose leg was wounded and rolled up cigarettes for trade. After hearing a shot, Tamura chases after Nagamatsu; he sees that he had fired at a fleeing Filipino civilian, and that the "monkeys" he had been hunting were other humans. The loose alliance between Nagamatsu and Yasuda breaks down now that Yasuda has a grenade, as the two each fear that the other will kill them for their meat. After guarding the only source of clean water in the area, Yasuda is smoked out; Yasuda attempts to negotiate, but Nagamatsu shoots him. As Nagamatsu attempts to devour Yasuda, Tamura grabs his rifle. In the resulting struggle, he shoots Nagamatsu, who assures him before he dies that he knows Tamura will eat him.
283:. The Japanese army remnants have taken to the jungle after being driven out of the main cities. The Filipinos, after suffering a brutal Japanese occupation, are in little mood to show mercy on their former tormentors, and light the titular bonfires for communication. Japanese soldiers are reduced to little more than bandits and murderers as their supplies dry up and they are encircled by the American-Filipino forces. A delirious and sick Private Tamura attempts to survive an aimless journey through the jungle as starvation drives the surviving soldiers to theft, madness, murder, suicide, and cannibalism.
302:. Tamura steals food from some local Filipinos while encountering disturbing evidence of the Japanese army's collapse. A despondent soldier blows himself up with a grenade, while others lie dying from malnutrition or injuries on the path. Tamura encounters two soldiers, Yasuda and Nagamatsu, who attempt to trade cigarettes for yams to soldiers who pass by; he declines the cigarette but gives Nagamatsu a yam regardless out of pity. Tamura desperately forages whatever food he can, while American aircraft occasionally
323:
to accept the surrender; Tamura perceives the shooter as the same woman he shot in the chapel. It is clear to Tamura that crossing the road to get to
Palompon is impossible, so he returns the way he came into the jungle. Now delirious and perceiving corpses as talking to him, Tamura is found and saved from starvation by Nagamatsu, the soldier he had given a yam to earlier. Tamura is given bark, water, and "
295:(TB) and is sent away from his company to the military hospital; the makeshift hospital refuses to accept him, as they are already full. Tamura is discharged back and forth until essentially ordered not to return and continue consuming supplies - he is ordered to commit suicide instead rather than return yet again.
307:
the other runs away, with Tamura's halfhearted shots missing. Tamura runs away with his stolen food before reinforcements come, abandoning his rifle in the process. Tamura joins up with some remaining soldiers from a different company, where he is told that the whole army has orders to attempt to retreat to
306:
the
Japanese army remnants with bullets. At a seemingly abandoned church, Tamura stabs a dog. He sees a pile of Japanese corpses nearby, but investigates regardless; he finds a cache of salt hidden beneath a floorboard, but is found out by two Filipino civilians. In a panicked haze, he shoots one;
322:
A famished Tamura prepares a white flag to attempt to surrender to a passing
American jeep. Just before he runs out to surrender, he sees another Japanese soldier attempt the same act. The other soldier is gunned down by a vengeful Filipino woman in the jeep despite the American soldier's attempt
31:
479:
felt that the film could in no way match the previous 1959 adaptation of the novel, he still praised its "frenetic and almost crude aesthetic" and effective mix of "shaky, high-contrast photography, boundless psychological despair and liberal doses of cheap but stomach churning gore."
402:
and potential military involvement: "I wanted to remind younger audiences, for whom the horrors of WWII are a distant memory and may feel war is OK, the consequences of going to war." The movie was released a few weeks before the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender,
319:, although Tamura is unsure if it is actually a joke or not. The retreat to Palompon requires crossing an open road; as Japanese soldiers attempt to cross it at nightfall, they are easily detected and gunned down by the Americans and Filipinos.
474:
felt like a "relentlessly cruel and gory horror film" and further stated, "it's not an easy watch but a highly rewarding one that most festival audiences will be anxious to sit through, thanks to
Tsukamoto's reputation." While Pierce Conran of
496:
to a degree that compromised its anti-war message and its realism, comparing the cinematography's lingering on horrible deaths to an "amateur zombie movie". Debruge also felt that
Tsukamoto's acting performance was weak and one-note.
487:
is not a masterpiece, but the extremity in the presentation of the anti-war message definitely sets it apart as a cult spectacle that fans of the genre will definitely appreciate." In less positive reviews, Peter
Debruge of
443:
does no such thing, showing undignified and starving soldiers trapped in a "hellish antechamber to death" lashing out at both innocents and each other. He praised
Tsukamoto's work and noted he seemed to be inspired by
438:
gave the film a positive review. He noted that many
Japanese war films indulged in a certain amount of soft nationalism, praising the sacrifice and intent of dying Japanese soldiers even if their cause was bad;
380:
Shinya
Tsukamoto read the novel as a child and was taken with its power; he stated in an interview that he always wanted to make a movie version. He said that even his first movie, the 1989 cyberpunk film
330:
The scene shifts to post-war Japan, where Tamura writes a memoir. Tamura claims to awaken at an
American field hospital in his notes and not have remembered what happened after shooting Nagamatsu, but
464:
wrote that the movie successfully makes its point that "war is hell, particularly if you are fighting on the losing side" and called the film "brilliantly bonkers". Deborah Young of
1210:
483:
In a middling review written for Asian Movie Pulse, Panos Kotzathanasis commented that the focus on grotesque spectacle and splatter at times felt excessive, and concluded, "
394:
Tsukamoto originally wanted to make "an epic movie, with a big budget" but was turned down by the companies he approached. He made the project completely self-funded as an
1185:
1190:
582:
941:
423:
262:
159:
642:
1175:
696:
404:
399:
272:
1195:
1205:
298:
On his own, Tamura finds that military discipline has faltered as the Japanese army disintegrates into the jungle and subsists largely on
1165:
280:
754:
505:
1170:
1225:
1180:
786:
934:
251:
816:
1220:
1160:
869:
722:
311:. Tamura travels with them for a time, trading his salt for yams; the other soldiers morbidly joke that they practiced
509:
407:; Tsukamoto arranged for encore screenings to happen the next year for the 71st anniversary of the war's end as well.
1215:
1200:
242:
63:
1155:
927:
612:
590:
697:"Fires on the Plain: Venice film festival review – brilliantly bonkers Japanese film reminds us war is hell"
448:'s style of portraying death and terror on-screen in a hallucinatory, terrifying fashion. Anthony Gates of
1084:
993:
731:
466:
1076:
966:
383:
1150:
1068:
535:
316:
30:
1060:
1017:
821:
362:
985:
904:
312:
247:
69:
1052:
951:
458:. He also praised the vibrant color palette and Chu Ishikawa's musical score. Xan Brooks of
395:
368:
350:
344:
237:
95:
44:
1036:
670:
647:
493:
445:
299:
1127:
1119:
763:
476:
454:
1144:
1103:
1009:
919:
391:; they both feature "normal" people who are drastically shaped by their environment.
91:
1044:
460:
292:
258:
127:
419:
356:
324:
99:
398:
instead. Tsukamoto also made the film due to the renewed interest in revising
1001:
873:
426:
in 2014. The film saw a wider release in the Japanese market in July 2015.
265:
in 2014, and was released to the wider Japanese box office on 25 July 2015.
332:
308:
303:
233:
898:
250:'s experience in World War II. The novel was previously adapted in the
843:
560:
508:
for movies released in 2015 in Japan. It also won 5th place at the
452:
also admired the film, comparing it to a more historical version of
276:
236:
written, produced, directed, edited, co-photographed and starring
246:, which was a semi-autobiographical work loosely based on author
923:
911:
643:"A second look at bloody WWII novel 'Fires on the Plain'"
1095:
1028:
977:
958:
198:
190:
180:
141:
133:
123:
115:
105:
83:
75:
58:
50:
40:
23:
240:. The film is based on the 1951 anti-war novel
872:. Movie Walker. 7 February 2016. Archived from
223:
217:
935:
8:
1211:Japanese occupation of the Philippines films
583:"International competition of feature films"
529:
527:
525:
942:
928:
920:
817:"Venice Film Review: 'Fires on the Plain'"
29:
20:
291:Private Tamura, a writer, is ridden with
271:takes place during the final days of the
785:Kotzathanasis, Panos (2 January 2019).
613:"Venice Film Festival Lineup Announced"
521:
424:71st Venice International Film Festival
263:71st Venice International Film Festival
400:Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution
273:Japanese occupation of the Philippines
7:
636:
634:
534:Gates, Anthony (30 September 2015).
1186:Films based on works by Shōhei Ōoka
844:"「バクマン。」が日本映画プロフェッショナル大賞でベストワン＆作品賞"
815:Debruge, Peter (2 September 2014).
721:Young, Deborah (2 September 2014).
335:at the horrible memory regardless.
1191:Films directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
753:Conran, Pierce (12 October 2014).
506:Japanese Professional Movie Awards
492:felt that the movie was more of a
405:commemorated on August 15 in Japan
14:
669:Gates, Anthony (2 October 2015).
504:won the second prize at the 25th
641:Schilling, Mark (22 July 2015).
418:was selected to compete for the
315:in order to survive during the
1:
1176:2010s Japanese-language films
261:. The film premiered at the
1196:Films scored by Chu Ishikawa
536:"Shinya Tsukamoto interview"
500:In the Japanese film press,
1206:Japanese World War II films
1064:("Tamamushi" segment, 2005)
870:"綾瀬はるかや広瀬すずも爆笑！樹木希林の爆笑スピーチ"
791:(2014) by Shinya Tsukamoto"
510:37th Yokohama Film Festival
224:
1242:
1166:Japanese independent films
281:American army had returned
150:2 September 2014
218:
28:
1171:Japanese war drama films
759:Drags Us Into The Abyss"
1226:Japanese splatter films
1181:Films about cannibalism
1085:Tetsuo: The Bullet Man
994:Tetsuo II: Body Hammer
732:The Hollywood Reporter
561:"『野火』が再びスクリーンに帰ってくる‼︎"
467:The Hollywood Reporter
165:25 July 2015
16:2014 Japanese war film
1077:Nightmare Detective 2
376:Production and themes
1221:2010s Japanese films
1161:2014 war drama films
967:Tetsuo: The Iron Man
755:"Busan 2014 Review:
671:"Fires on the Plain"
387:, was influenced by
384:Tetsuo: The Iron Man
1069:Nightmare Detective
876:on 23 November 2018
317:New Guinea campaign
232:is a 2014 Japanese
1112:Fires on the Plain
950:Films directed by
900:Fires on the Plain
789:Fires on the Plain
757:Fires on the Plain
725:Fires on the Plain
502:Fires on the Plain
485:Fires on the Plain
472:Fires on the Plain
441:Fires on the Plain
434:Mark Schilling of
416:Fires on the Plain
389:Fires on the Plain
269:Fires on the Plain
254:Fires on the Plain
243:Fires on the Plain
212:Fires on the Plain
64:Fires on the Plain
24:Fires on the Plain
1216:Films set in 1944
1201:Pacific War films
1138:
1137:
986:Hiruko the Goblin
795:Asian Movie Pulse
593:on 6 October 2014
275:on the island of
208:
207:
1233:
1156:2014 drama films
1037:A Snake of June
952:Shinya Tsukamoto
944:
937:
930:
921:
915:
914:
912:Official website
886:
885:
883:
881:
866:
860:
859:
857:
855:
840:
834:
833:
831:
829:
812:
806:
805:
803:
801:
782:
776:
775:
773:
771:
750:
744:
743:
741:
739:
727:: Venice Review"
718:
712:
711:
709:
707:
692:
686:
685:
683:
681:
675:easternkicks.com
666:
660:
659:
657:
655:
638:
629:
628:
626:
624:
609:
603:
602:
600:
598:
589:. Archived from
579:
573:
572:
570:
568:
557:
551:
550:
548:
546:
540:easternkicks.com
531:
450:Easternkicks.com
396:independent film
369:Tatsuya Nakamura
353:as Tamura's Wife
345:Shinya Tsukamoto
238:Shinya Tsukamoto
231:
230:
227:
221:
220:
172:
170:
157:
155:
119:Shinya Tsukamoto
111:Shinya Tsukamoto
96:Tatsuya Nakamura
87:Shinya Tsukamoto
79:Shinya Tsukamoto
54:Shinya Tsukamoto
45:Shinya Tsukamoto
33:
21:
1241:
1240:
1236:
1235:
1234:
1232:
1231:
1230:
1141:
1140:
1139:
1134:
1091:
1024:
973:
954:
948:
910:
909:
895:
890:
889:
879:
877:
868:
867:
863:
853:
851:
850:. 25 March 2016
842:
841:
837:
827:
825:
814:
813:
809:
799:
797:
784:
783:
779:
769:
767:
752:
751:
747:
737:
735:
720:
719:
715:
705:
703:
694:
693:
689:
679:
677:
668:
667:
663:
653:
651:
648:The Japan Times
640:
639:
632:
622:
620:
611:
610:
606:
596:
594:
581:
580:
576:
566:
564:
559:
558:
554:
544:
542:
533:
532:
523:
518:
446:Terrence Malick
436:The Japan Times
432:
413:
378:
341:
289:
228:
215:
203:
183:
176:
168:
166:
153:
151:
144:
110:
109:Satoshi Hayashi
98:
94:
90:
88:
67:
36:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1239:
1237:
1229:
1228:
1223:
1218:
1213:
1208:
1203:
1198:
1193:
1188:
1183:
1178:
1173:
1168:
1163:
1158:
1153:
1143:
1142:
1136:
1135:
1133:
1132:
1128:Shadow of Fire
1124:
1116:
1108:
1099:
1097:
1093:
1092:
1090:
1089:
1081:
1073:
1065:
1057:
1049:
1041:
1032:
1030:
1026:
1025:
1023:
1022:
1014:
1006:
998:
990:
981:
979:
975:
974:
972:
971:
962:
960:
956:
955:
949:
947:
946:
939:
932:
924:
918:
917:
907:
894:
893:External links
891:
888:
887:
861:
835:
807:
787:"Film Review:
777:
764:Screen Anarchy
745:
713:
687:
661:
630:
619:. 24 July 2014
604:
574:
563:. 24 July 2016
552:
520:
519:
517:
514:
477:Screen Anarchy
431:
428:
412:
409:
377:
374:
373:
372:
366:
360:
354:
348:
340:
337:
288:
285:
206:
205:
200:
196:
195:
192:
188:
187:
184:
181:
178:
177:
175:
174:
163:
147:
145:
142:
139:
138:
137:Kaijyu Theatre
135:
134:Distributed by
131:
130:
125:
121:
120:
117:
113:
112:
107:
106:Cinematography
103:
102:
85:
81:
80:
77:
73:
72:
60:
56:
55:
52:
48:
47:
42:
38:
37:
34:
26:
25:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1238:
1227:
1224:
1222:
1219:
1217:
1214:
1212:
1209:
1207:
1204:
1202:
1199:
1197:
1194:
1192:
1189:
1187:
1184:
1182:
1179:
1177:
1174:
1172:
1169:
1167:
1164:
1162:
1159:
1157:
1154:
1152:
1149:
1148:
1146:
1130:
1129:
1125:
1122:
1121:
1117:
1114:
1113:
1109:
1106:
1105:
1101:
1100:
1098:
1094:
1087:
1086:
1082:
1079:
1078:
1074:
1071:
1070:
1066:
1063:
1062:
1058:
1055:
1054:
1050:
1047:
1046:
1042:
1039:
1038:
1034:
1033:
1031:
1027:
1020:
1019:
1015:
1012:
1011:
1010:Bullet Ballet
1007:
1004:
1003:
999:
996:
995:
991:
988:
987:
983:
982:
980:
976:
969:
968:
964:
963:
961:
957:
953:
945:
940:
938:
933:
931:
926:
925:
922:
916:(in Japanese)
913:
908:
906:
902:
901:
897:
896:
892:
875:
871:
865:
862:
849:
845:
839:
836:
824:
823:
818:
811:
808:
796:
792:
790:
781:
778:
766:
765:
760:
758:
749:
746:
734:
733:
728:
726:
717:
714:
702:
698:
695:Brooks, Xan.
691:
688:
676:
672:
665:
662:
650:
649:
644:
637:
635:
631:
618:
614:
608:
605:
592:
588:
584:
578:
575:
562:
556:
553:
541:
537:
530:
528:
526:
522:
515:
513:
511:
507:
503:
498:
495:
491:
486:
481:
478:
473:
469:
468:
463:
462:
457:
456:
451:
447:
442:
437:
429:
427:
425:
421:
417:
410:
408:
406:
401:
397:
392:
390:
386:
385:
375:
370:
367:
364:
361:
358:
355:
352:
351:Yūko Nakamura
349:
346:
343:
342:
338:
336:
334:
328:
326:
320:
318:
314:
310:
305:
301:
296:
294:
286:
284:
282:
278:
274:
270:
266:
264:
260:
256:
255:
249:
245:
244:
239:
235:
226:
214:
213:
201:
197:
193:
189:
185:
179:
164:
161:
149:
148:
146:
143:Release dates
140:
136:
132:
129:
126:
122:
118:
114:
108:
104:
101:
97:
93:
92:Yuko Nakamura
86:
82:
78:
74:
71:
66:
65:
61:
57:
53:
49:
46:
43:
39:
32:
27:
22:
19:
1126:
1118:
1111:
1110:
1102:
1083:
1075:
1067:
1059:
1051:
1043:
1035:
1016:
1008:
1000:
992:
984:
965:
899:
878:. Retrieved
874:the original
864:
852:. Retrieved
847:
838:
826:. Retrieved
820:
810:
798:. Retrieved
794:
788:
780:
768:. Retrieved
762:
756:
748:
736:. Retrieved
730:
724:
716:
704:. Retrieved
701:The Guardian
700:
690:
678:. Retrieved
674:
664:
652:. Retrieved
646:
621:. Retrieved
616:
607:
595:. Retrieved
591:the original
586:
577:
565:. Retrieved
555:
543:. Retrieved
539:
501:
499:
489:
484:
482:
471:
470:opined that
465:
461:The Guardian
459:
453:
449:
440:
435:
433:
415:
414:
393:
388:
382:
379:
365:as Nagamatsu
329:
321:
297:
293:tuberculosis
290:
279:, after the
268:
267:
259:Kon Ichikawa
253:
241:
211:
210:
209:
182:Running time
173: (Japan)
128:Chu Ishikawa
62:
18:
828:27 February
800:25 December
770:25 December
738:25 December
706:27 February
680:27 February
654:27 February
567:26 February
545:27 February
494:horror film
420:Golden Lion
371:as Corporal
363:Yusaku Mori
357:Lily Franky
325:monkey meat
313:cannibalism
248:Shōhei Ōoka
100:Lily Franky
89:Yusaku Mori
76:Produced by
70:Shōhei Ōoka
41:Directed by
35:Film poster
1151:2014 films
1145:Categories
1002:Tokyo Fist
880:8 February
516:References
333:dry heaves
252:1959 film
186:87 minutes
169:2015-07-25
154:2014-09-02
51:Written by
430:Reception
359:as Yasuda
347:as Tamura
199:Languages
116:Edited by
854:25 March
617:Deadline
309:Palompon
234:war film
204:Filipino
202:Japanese
124:Music by
84:Starring
59:Based on
1120:Killing
822:Variety
623:24 July
597:24 July
490:Variety
455:Mad Max
422:at the
411:Release
191:Country
167: (
152: (
1131:(2023)
1123:(2018)
1115:(2014)
1107:(2011)
1104:Kotoko
1088:(2009)
1080:(2008)
1072:(2006)
1061:Female
1056:(2005)
1048:(2004)
1040:(2002)
1021:(1999)
1018:Gemini
1013:(1998)
1005:(1995)
997:(1992)
989:(1991)
970:(1989)
848:映画ナタリー
587:Venice
304:strafe
160:Venice
158: (
1096:2010s
1045:Vital
1029:2000s
978:1990s
959:1980s
277:Leyte
194:Japan
1053:Haze
905:IMDb
882:2016
856:2016
830:2021
802:2023
772:2023
740:2023
708:2021
682:2021
656:2021
625:2014
599:2014
569:2021
547:2021
339:Cast
300:yams
287:Plot
225:Nobi
903:at
257:by
68:by
1147::
846:.
819:.
793:.
761:.
729:.
699:.
673:.
645:.
633:^
615:.
585:.
538:.
524:^
512:.
222:,
219:野火
943:e
936:t
929:v
884:.
858:.
832:.
804:.
774:.
742:.
723:"
710:.
684:.
658:.
627:.
601:.
571:.
549:.
229:)
216:(
171:)
162:)
156:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
