Bleak Week: 'Fires on the Plain'

An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s "Fires on the Plain" is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all. Grisly yet poetic, "Fires on the Plain" is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers.

"Fires on the Plain" plays as part of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. Co-presented by the American Cinematheque, Bleak Week spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history.

What began as a Los Angeles-based festival expands this year to 73 cities around the world, including San Diego's Digital Gym Cinema! Founded in 2022, Bleak Week is an annual weeklong festival where audiences can celebrate and experience some of the most challenging works of arthouse cinema. Each June, Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history.

Digital Gym Cinema is proud to be a participating cinema in the expanded fifth edition of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair which runs from June 5 through June 11.

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