Iluminados por el fuego

As I lived in the UK for a long time, I had mostly heard/seen about the Falklands War from a Briiths perspective. Tried to find a movie from the Argentine perspective, and this came up.

It shows the experience of three young recruits sent to the Falklands, cutting between their experiences there on the islands and back in modern day Argentina, as the suicide attempt of one of them reunites him with an old war buddy.

The film largely focuses on the futility of war, and how the soldiers do not want to be in this fight that they have no interest in, and where their own commanders mistreat them. The film doesn't try to make a political statement, it focuses on the human side of things.

It was very interesting to see this perspective, but the film was clearly done on a limited budget. I'd say the production values were of a cheap made for TV feature. But what lifted it up a bit was that there were some scenes actually filmed on the Falklands, which was interesting to see.

The first real movie about Malvinas war, telling the cruel way the incompetent heads of the Argentinian army sent those boys to a war they didn't want to go. And the movie is short telling the real story, which was worst than it is depicted here. Frozen, hungry boys, fighting a war for keeping in their throne the decadent military government. Acting is of good standard. Gaston Pauls confirm his great moment, and the moods and language of the Argentinean military men is very well depicted. The war scenes are not so good, but you can feel the frozen wind in your feet when the soldiers are waiting for the enemy. No love to motherland, no hating the enemy, only waiting for an early ending, and back home to mom, girlfriend, and family. No special effects, no needing of it. You get involved with the characters, in a very special way. The storytelling is quite slow, but accordingly with the interminable waiting for the enemy, in that frozen tundra, with inadequate equipment. Iluminados por el fuego is not a documentary film for those interested in history, but a testimony of the useless suffering of those soldiers. Don't expect CGI and special effects as in "Saving Private Ryan". This is real life, and it hurts.

Iluminados por el fuego is one of the finest anti war films.It is based on a book by Edgardo Esteban who fought at Falklands Islands as a soldier for more than 50 days.It is a sad tale of a journalist Esteban Leguizamón (Gastón Pauls) who is informed that his colleague at war Vargas (Pablo Ribba) has attempted to commit suicide as he was disturbed due to recurrent images of war.Esteban visits his colleague at hospital.This sad visit forces him to go back to the memories of the past.Argentinian auteur Tristan Bauer acquaints viewers with one of the most stupid wars waged at Falkland Islands (Islas Malavinas) in 1982 between Argentina and United Kingdom.Falklands war was horrendous for Argentina can be explained from the fact that it was responsible for the killing of more than 400 soldiers due to suicide.It is believed that some 267 soldiers lost their lives while they were defending the false pride of Argentina.Tristan Bauer shows us the madness of a futile war.His film proves that when a soldier dies, humanity also loses with him.Tristan Bauer is highly critical of Argentinian army generals who are shown as cowards.He tells that young soldiers have no choice but are forced to die for their motherland.

When the journalist Esteban Leguizamón (Gastón Pauls) receives a phone call from his acquaintance Marie, he goes to the hospital and finds that his former friend of the Malvinas War Alberto Vargas (Pablo Ribba) tried to commit suicide. Marie, who was married with Vargas, tells Esteban that the veteran Vargas has never recovered from the period he served in Islas Malvinas in 1982 and was extremely depressed in the last days. Esteban realizes that more than two hundred and ninety veterans from the war against the English troops had committed suicide and he recalls the tough period he fought in Malvinas with Vargas and Juan (Cesar Albarracin), reviving the ghost from his past and opening deep wounds he had forgotten.

In 1982, the Argentinean Military Government decided to send troops to retrieve the Islas Malvinas from England that occupied the islands in 1833. However the true intention of the military junta was to divert the Argentineans and increase their popularity, raising the sense of nationality with an ancient issue. The Argentinean soldiers were sent without the necessary supplies, suitable clothing, outfits and training, being easily defeated after two months of starvation, cold and fight against the British forces. "Iluminados Por el Fuego" shows the poor conditions of the Argentinean soldiers in Malvinas and the effect of this war in the young soldiers that survived the irresponsibility and cruelty of their leaders that decided to play of war, transforming them in psychologically destroyed men. Tristán Bauer certainly had a limited budget for the battles scenes, and he successfully uses a chaotic sequence to represent how these battles probably might have been. In the end, he gives a great anti-war message and states that the Isla Malvinas belong to the Argentinean people. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Iluminados Pelo Fogo" ("Lightened by Fire")

Not many war films are made about the terrors of the Falkland, or Malvinas, war. Neither are war films as poignant and thought-provoking as Blessed by Fire.

War films are so regularly hybrid with other genres, whether its romance, politics, bravery, historical drama, art, or even comedy. This can make them entertaining, such as Apocalypse Now, or silly, like Pearl Harbour. Done to make more sales, make a political statement, to boast a big budget or glamorise real warfare, it's always a gamble if the war film is worth watching.

I was pleased to have come across Blessed by Fire. I hadn't heard much about it but I was interested in watching a movie about the Falklands War. It's told from the Argentine perspective and based on the memoirs of the soldier, Esteban Leguizamón, played by Gastón Pauls. Twenty years after the war, Leguizamón is contacted to visit his old comrade Alberto Vargas (Pablo Ribba) who is in a coma after attempted suicide. Through flashbacks and newsreels, Leguizamón remembers the ill-treatment by superiors, how his friends would talk of their futures, families and livelihoods, their fear of the invading British armies, and the dank conditions they were living in. It also touches on the neglect soldiers face after the war from their government – bad pensions and no career options. What it does magnificently is touch on the mental horrors of war - the anger and psychological scars that war causes – and without a glamorisation in sight. Another political issue it touches on at the end is the live mines and rusting ammunition left over beautiful landscapes, and how nothing has been done to get rid of them. The political slant against Maggie Thatcher and her reasons for war are thrown in there – whether it's for good measure, I'm unsure. But the result of the war has tarnished political relations between Britain and Argentina for many years, and it is a sensitive issue, particularly for Argentineans.

It was a film made on a budget, so some of the acting is slightly amateur – but believable. The special affects are okay, but in moments of excitement, the lighting doesn't always make it clear what is going on. However, the sets are gloomy enough to be realistic and the photography of the Falklands is fantastic.

It's a symbol of what war is really about. Not the most exciting. But realism and heroism, without glamour. I give this film 9!