FIRES ON THE PLAIN

Japan, 1959, 108 minutes, Black and white.
Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa, Micky Curtis.
Directed by Kon Ichikawa.

Fires on the Plain was written and directed by celebrated Japanese artist Kon Ichikawa. He is best known for his film about World War Two, The Harp of Burma.

This film is set in the Philippines, portraying the Japanese occupation, the collapse of the occupation, the loyalty of the soldiers even as they felt more and more isolated, the starvation, the disease, the interaction with the villagers. It shows the level of brutality as the soldiers try to survive.

The film is an indictment of Japan's behaviour during World War Two, its ambitions, its inability to fulfil its ambitions and the dire consequences for the countries and the people who found themselves occupied by Japanese troops.

Filmed effectively in wide screen and black and white photography, the film is harsh and hard, inviting its audience to share the experience of the demoralised Japanese soldiers.

1.The work of Kon Ichikawa? The reappraisal of the war experience in the movies of the '50s? Japan and its presence in the war from a Japanese perspective?

2.Black and white photography, location photography, the use of wide screen format? Authentic locations? Musical score?

3.The perspective of the '50s on the war, later decades?

4.The background of Japanese imperialism in the 20th century, the invasions and occupations, the waging of the war? The Philippines and their occupation, their defeat? The fight back and the demoralised state of the Japanese troops?

5.The focus on the soldier, tuberculosis? His being isolated from the rest of the men? His wandering the countryside? The range of his experiences? Other soldiers met? Living off the land, the dangers? Food? Encountering small groups of soldiers? Isolation and ignorance? The confrontation with the people from the village, his violence and their deaths? The soldiers with the guns? The grenade?

6.The portrait of the other soldiers, scattered, wandering the countryside, clashing amongst themselves, starving? Surviving and dying?

7.The picture of the Filipinos, the response to the occupation, self-defence? Ordinary men and women finding the Japanese wandering the countryside? The vivid confrontation and the Japanese soldier shooting the villager dead? Their escapes?

8.A picture of war, the evils of war, the effect on the victims, on the invading conquerors?