Fires on the Plain

is a 1959 Japanese war film directed by Kon Ichikawa, starring Eiji Funakoshi. The screenplay, written by Natto Wada, is based on the novel Nobi (Tokyo 1951) by Shōhei Ōoka, translated as Fires on the Plain. It initially received mixed reviews from both Japanese and international critics concerning its violence and bleak theme. In following decades, however, it has become highly regarded. Fires on the Plain follows a tubercular Japanese private and his attempt to stay alive during the latter part of World War II. Kon Ichikawa has noted its thematic struggle between staying alive, and crossing the ultimate low. Plot In February 1945, the demoralized Imperial Japanese Army on Leyte is in desperate straits, cut off from support and supplies by the Allies, who are in the process of liberating the Philippine island. Private Tamura has tuberculosis and is seen as a useless burden to his company, even though it has been reduced to little more than a platoon in strength. He is ordered to commit suicide by grenade if he is unable to get re-admitted to a nearby field hospital. A sympathetic soldier gives him several yams from the unit's meager supplies. On his way, he notices mysterious smoke rising in the distance. When he reaches the crowded hospital, he is admonished for coming back and sent away. He joins a group of other rejectees outside. When the Allies start shelling the area, the medical staff abandon the patients and run away. The hospital is hit and destroyed. Tamura flees as well; looking back, he sees many bodies strewn around, but chooses not to go to the aid of any who may still be alive.