Fires on the Plain
“Fires on the Plain” doesn’t just follow a Japanese soldier during the last days of World War II. It follows a Japanese soldier dying of tuberculosis. It’s a beyond-bleak watch, discomfiting audiences with a wash of casual misery, grim black-and-white cinematography and disturbing violence. Director Kon Ichikawa resorted to extreme measures to communicate his vision, not allowing actors to brush their teeth, comb their hair or even eat proper meals during production.