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Fires on the Plain (1959) poster

1959 · drama · war

Fires on the Plain

Directed by Kon Ichikawa1h 45m1959

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte.

Our read: Fires on the Plain (1959) reads as a heavy, measured, grounded drama · war entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Heavy, measured, extreme drama / war, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, cold.

ElsewhereIMDb7.95kRT100%TMDB7.6125
  • heavy
  • measured
  • extreme
  • bleak
  • cold
Video previewNo trailer available for this one.
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DNA · twelve axes

How Fires on the Plain feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want a harrowing Japanese anti-war film about starvation and survival.”

ends devastatingit will wreck youmeditativegrips by minute 20attention 5/5feels its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upgraphic violencegore

Skip it tonight — Skip if extreme war horror and cannibalism themes will leave you wrecked.

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