Fires on the Plain
1959 · Movie · NR · 105 min · ★ 7.6 · 95% critics
In the closing days of WWII, a sick Japanese soldier is left behind by his unit and forced to wander the Philippine island of Leyte. Alone and struggling to survive, he searches for help while the war around him grinds on in grim, unforgiving conditions.
Based on Fires on the Plain
Where to watch
Watch free on Kanopy — also streaming on TCM and The Criterion Channel.
2 hours to watch.
Stream (included)
Rent
Streaming availability and prices may be inaccurate or change — verify with the provider before subscribing.
unSUB's subscription recommendations are informational only, not financial advice.
More value for your money
Similar titles, ranked by watch-hours per subscription dollar.
Details
- Original title
- 野火
- Years
- 1959
- Release date
- 1959-11-03
- Language
- Japanese
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (125 votes)
About
You’ll likely like this if you want a bleak, anti-war look at survival in WWII’s aftermath, and if you’re drawn to similarly harrowing films like The Burmese Harp and Woman in the Dunes; Not for you if you want heroic, uplifting storytelling or more conventional character development.
Pros: unflinching war portrait; bleak, human struggle; strong light-dark visuals | Cons: limited dialogue variety; few character arcs; harsh, disturbing content
Themes
- world war ii
- defeat
- philippines
- pacific war
- black and white
- cannibal
- struggle for survival
- japanese army
- japanese soldier
- horrors of war
- cannibalism
- left behind
Awards & recognition
- Golden Leopard · 1961
- International Submission to the Academy Awards · 1960 · nominated
Cast & crew
Eiji Funakoshi
as Tamura
Osamu Takizawa
as Yasuda
Mickey Curtis
as Nagamatsu
Mantarō Ushio
as Sergeant
Kyū Sazanka
as Army surgeon
- YH
Yoshihiro Hamaguchi
as Officer
Hikaru Hoshi
as Soldier
Masaya Tsukida
as Soldier
- KS
Kô Sugita
as Soldier
Tatsuya Ishiguro
Directed by Kon Ichikawa