Blessed by Fire (Iluminados por el fuego) (2005)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(677 ratings)

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… More 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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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Gastón Pauls, Hugo Carrizo
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 21, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Jul 17, 2007
Studio: Koch Vision

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
The morbid and gripping war film Blessed by Fire is well worth a look.
Jonathan Holland, Variety
Illuminated by Fire is a watchable if none-too-penetrating analysis of the traumatizing effects of a war largely forgotten.
Julia Wallace, Village Voice
Tristán Bauer's new war movie has an even more bitterly ironic title in Spanish: Iluminados por El Fuego or Enlightened by Fire.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The battlefield sequences unfold with surreal horror, while the human bonding in the foxholes emerges tenderly.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
Tristan Bauer's film portrays the Falklands War in 1982 as a mismanaged, vainglorious spasm of nationalism.
Christopher Campbell, Cinematical
For an event rarely thought about outside of its involved countries, the film is a remarkable achievement.
Prairie Miller, NY Rock
As a Falklands vet is faced with the brutal realization of the tragic futility of war and its aftermath, old wounds are opened and bleed metaphorically into the present.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
The film equivalent of an adult contemporary song.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Bitter recollections of Argentina's ill-fated attempt to win control of the Malvinas from Great Britain.
Lewis Beale, Film Journal International
Even though Blessed by Fire is undoubtedly well-made and sincere in its efforts to shine a light on this farcical episode, it also doesn't add anything to the "war is hell" genre.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
As a Falklands vet is faced with the brutal realization of the tragic futility of war and its aftermath, old wounds are opened and bleed metaphorically into the present.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Wahida K

I like watching anti-war movies trouble is sometimes they are too bloody especially the ones based uopn real events. Heartbreaking sometimes.
The S

This Argentine film about the Falklands War and its aftermath is largely unbiased and focuses on the tragedy of war and its traumatising effects. It is well made and acted with realistic action sequences and, except for a somewhat anomolous voiceover tagged on the end, successfully… More
This Argentine film about the Falklands War and its aftermath is largely unbiased and focuses on the tragedy of war and its traumatising effects. It is well made and acted with realistic action sequences and, except for a somewhat anomolous voiceover tagged on the end, successfully avoids politics and nationalism. Recommended.

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