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Blessed By Fire (2005)

Blessed By Fire (2005)
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The near-death of an old friend forces a man to look back at a painful chapter in his life in a wartime drama from Argentinean filmmaker Tristan Bauer. Esteban (Gastón Pauls) is a writer edging into middle age who has received word that Vargas (Pablo Ribba), who served with him in the Argentine Army during the 1980s, has attempted to commit suicide and is now in a coma. The news floods Esteban's mind with memories of their days in the Falkland Islands war of 1982. Esteban, Vargas, and Juan (Cesar Albarracin) were all new recruits who knew next to nothing about battle when they were sent to the rocky islands to fend off a possible invasion by the British military. Juan and Vargas both have more on their minds than imminent battle -- Juan worries about his young son at home, while Vargas left for the islands on bad terms with both his parents and his girlfriend. As the soldiers struggle to pass the time while waiting for the seemingly inevitable war to start, Esteban, Juan, and Vargas capture and roast a sheep; Vargas is severely punished for his part in the sheep-napping, and is on emotionally shaking ground when the British Navy begins raining death upon the ill-equipped Argentineans. Iluminados por el Fuego (aka Blessed by Fire) was named Best Narrative Feature at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Gastón PaulsJose Luis Alfonso, (more)
Director(s):
Tristan Bauer
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of Blessed By Fire

The near-death of an old friend forces a man to look back at a painful chapter in his life in a wartime drama from Argentinean filmmaker Tristan Bauer. Esteban (Gastón Pauls) is a writer edging into middle age who has received word that Vargas (Pablo Ribba), who served with him in the Argentine Army during the 1980s, has attempted to commit suicide and is now in a coma. The news floods Esteban's mind with memories of their days in the Falkland Islands war of 1982. Esteban, Vargas, and Juan (Cesar Albarracin) were all new recruits who knew next to nothing about battle when they were sent to the rocky islands to fend off a possible invasion by the British military. Juan and Vargas both have more on their minds than imminent battle -- Juan worries about his young son at home, while Vargas left for the islands on bad terms with both his parents and his girlfriend. As the soldiers struggle to pass the time while waiting for the seemingly inevitable war to start, Esteban, Juan, and Vargas capture and roast a sheep; Vargas is severely punished for his part in the sheep-napping, and is on emotionally shaking ground when the British Navy begins raining death upon the ill-equipped Argentineans. Iluminados por el Fuego (aka Blessed by Fire) was named Best Narrative Feature at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
104 mins

Complete Cast of Blessed By Fire


Director(s):
Tristan Bauer
Writer(s):
Miguel BonassoEdgardo EstebanGustavo Romero Borri
Producer(s):
Carlos Ruta
Blessed By Fire Awards:
  • 2006 - Tribeca Film Festival - Best Narrative Feature
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    Member Reviews
     
    Keith G.

    Intense look at the Falklands war, from the Argentinean soldier"s POV. While the war seemed silly to most of the world, to the Argentinean draftees who lost their lives, and sanity in a futile, under equipped attempt to hold off a wildly more powerful British was as real as Normandy. But this was a pointless, quickly forgotten war, drummed up to take the country's mind off a faltering economy, Then the men are sworn to silence about their defeat and the abusive treatment by their own officers. Any war where more of the soldiers die of suicide in the years following than on the battlefield needs examining. The film captures the horror, confusion, fear, but it does not get under the skins of the characters enough to make us understand. I was never bored, but nowhere near as moved as I wish I had been. The very last seconds made me question if I had given the film too much credit for having an enlightened point of view.

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    Ronald F.

    The movie highlighted the crassness and incompetence of the Argentine military dictatorship. Yet, the movie harped on how the Falklands rightfully belonged to Argentina, after having been in British hands for 125 years. Of course, the Falkland inhabitants wanted nothing to do with the fascist Argentine government. The dictatorship forgot that murdering civilians was not a good preparation for fighting a real army, and subsequently the Argentine army got its back kicked. The recruits, of course, were the ones who really suffered. Yet, our sympathy is dissipated, since those abused recruits shared the nationalist goal with the dictatorship of taking back the Falklands. There is no real lesson to be learned. We see they suffered, but we are not given an alternative.

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