Fires on the Plain

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Henry D @Henry_Domke May 24, 2026 An original and fresh war film, unlike any I’ve seen before. The main character seemed clueless, sympathetic, and honorable, a decent man trying to survive in a world that had lost all sense of decency. It looks as if it could have been made today. Despite the grim subject, it wasn’t as bleak as I expected. It felt realistic, and was a very good print. See more

Virgo V @vision Dec 12, 2025 Fires on the Plain (Nobi) is a 1959 Japanese war film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on the novel Nobi by Shōhei Ōoka, translated as Fires on the Plain. It was written by Natto Wada. It stars Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa and Mickey Curtis. It was produced by Masaichi Nagata. It was distributed by Daiei Film Company Limited. Vision wrote: "the Fires on the Plain follows a tubercular Japanese private and his attempt to stay alive during the latter part of World War II. The film was bleak and chilling. It will get under your skin but you'll be able to forget about it. Just the same as all the other atrocities we never hear about. It’s not about signal fires; it’s about the fires on the plain. Three fries for the cinematography, the performances and the chosen story. It felt almost like a documentary; hence the narration." See more

Habit N @RT62453635 Feb 4, 2023 Probably the greatest anti-war film ever produced See more

william d @acsdoug Sep 17, 2020 Not much of a story arc here, just a few men living in absolute misery. See more

s r @ScottR Apr 7, 2020 Watched on Kanopy. Crazy anti war film that is unique and oddly compelling. See more

Feb 19, 2016 It is the Philippines. It is 1945. The once proud Fascist imperial armies of Japan have been decimated. All that remains are straggling, starving soldiers marchin' on, mostly devoid of even superior officers. Meanwhile, the Americans are in full force and can ambush them at will. Guerrillas and even civilians can also kill them at will. Because of the Bushido code, most are still not seriously contemplating surrender. But many dream of it regardless. The protagonist here gradually realizes to his horror that many of his fellow soldiers have resorted to cannibalism to survive. He vows to be different but is sorely tempted to do likewise. They march on through the wilderness of the Philippines to avoid detection as long as possible. Eventually he finds a soldier who is attempting to become a Buddha, refusing to leave a tree he is resting against, and when the main character gets up to leave, the other soldier raises his arm and says, "it won't be much longer, why don't you stay and eat me." He proceeds on and eventually teams up out of loneliness and desperation with another soldier who seems more energetic than the rest who offers him "monkey meat". He is suspicious because he's seen no monkeys and eventually realizes he's been consuming human flesh all along. There is a scene in which he waits for an ideal time to surrender. He even has a white flag, but he sees another soldier surrender first who gets machine-gunned by a female civilian, which is perfectly understandable considering the vast extent of the war crime atrocities committed against the people of the Philippines. Yes, this film is horrific, nearly veering into horror film realm, and unfortunately a true story. It gets a 100% critics approval rating. See more

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Fires on the Plain

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