I remember the Falklands War; it was 1982 and we (the UK) defended the rights of the people who lived on the island against the Argentineans who tried to impose their rule on a British dependency. That was the way we saw it and we won. I have never seen the alternative version – this was war, although never declared such by either side; there are always alternative versions. Enlightened by Fire (Illuminadas Por El Fuego) tells the story from an Argentinean perspective.

Esteban (Gaston Pauls) is called to the hospital when one of his fellow soldiers, Vargas (Pablo Ribba), attempts to kill himself, twenty years after the end of the war. Nearly 300 Argentinean veterans have committed suicide, which is almost equal to a third of their total casualties. As Vargas lies in a hospital bed in a tiny tiled cubicle that already resembles a morgue, Esteban is forced to revisit his memories of the islands and the conflict. The film is shot in a series of flashbacks as the action switches between the busy Buenos Aires streets and cafes and the bleak windswept islands where the soldiers were stationed in cramped underground dugouts. Esteban recalls the cold, hunger and misery they endured with fellow soldier, Juan (Cesar Albarracin) who was killed on the battlefield.

On these islands of mists and freezing mud, the army uniforms blend in to the green and grey of the territory with only the bird life and sheep as distractions. The soldiers sit around talking about killing animals, missing girls, kids left behind, and letters from home, like soldiers do. A scene where starvation forces them to attack a flock of sheep provides a rare moment of humour. There is little relief for the soldiers, punished by their sadistic generals and depressed to the point of trying to contract to Hepatitis (by eating ‘piss and porridge’), or shooting themselves in the leg so they may be sent home.

The jerky, grainy camera work is mixed with old footage of warships, fighter planes, missile launchers, Margaret Thatcher and cheering crowds. A harrier plane rents the sky in a display of the awesome power and terrifying beauty of war machinery.

The battle scenes are dark, long and confusing with intense sound that becomes painful to the viewer. Esteban tells Vargas that when you can’t see you must learn to listen, and there is constant background noise in the film, from the thundering bombs of the battlefields to the crying children and barking dogs of city apartment living. The chaos of the battlefields is reflected in the tumultuous and traditional shabby hospital, whereas the dull light is echoed by the dingy flats with peeling walls.
Argentina lost ‘the crisis’ as it was called and the soldiers were told that they had fought well and they were going back to their homeland where their country was proud of them. There was no grand reception on their return; if they thought they would be heroes, they were sorely disillusioned as most people preferred to think it had never happened. Their loss was blamed on the torture, treachery and sadism of their own people. The Falkland Islands remained under British control, although to this day Argentina shows no sign of relinquishing its claim to them.

Vargas always wanted to return for closure or he said the ghosts would kill him, but it is Esteban who revisits the islands. A Union Jack flies over the town of Port Stanley and the sun shines on the picturesque hills, whose beauty belies the carnage that took place quarter of a century before.

I saw this film close to Anzac Day and the parallels with all wars were obvious; the woeful loss of human life; the young soldiers trying to live ordinary lives; the pain they suffered; the propaganda they were fed, and the sacrifices they made. Whatever their reasons and nationality, we shall remember them.—Kate Blackhurst