Fires on the Plain

Fires on the Plain is a Japanese war drama set during the closing phase of the Second World War on the Philippine island of Leyte. As the Japanese position collapses, a soldier named Tamura, weakened by tuberculosis, is turned away from a field hospital and left to make his way alone. Cut off from his unit and with supplies running out, he wanders a landscape held by American forces and Filipino guerrillas, encountering other stragglers whose struggle to survive erodes the discipline and ideals they once held.

The film was directed by Kon Ichikawa from a screenplay by Natto Wada, with Masaichi Nagata producing for Daiei Film. It is the sixth of the fifteen features Ichikawa directed in chronological order, following Hole in One and preceding Goodbye, Hello. Eiji Funakoshi plays Tamura, and the cast also includes Osamu Takizawa, Mickey Curtis, Mantarō Ushio, Kyū Sazanka and Yoshihiro Hamaguchi. Running 105 minutes, it is based on Shōhei Ōoka's novel of the same name.

Audience response has been strong: on IMDb the film holds 7.9 out of 10 from roughly 5,800 votes, and on TMDB 7.6 out of 10 from about 130 votes. A film critics' rating of 8.2 out of 10 from 20 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores.