MIFF 2022 Film Review - Fire Front
Images courtesy of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Black Summer, we all remember it. The thick billowing smoke hanging in the air for months on end, the daily updates of fires popping up all over the country with no end in sight and the complete lack of leadership and compassion from the country's Prime Minister at the time. It’s triggering. 2019’s Black Summer was literally the most catastrophic climate event Australia has ever seen or endured. Eddie Martin’s Fire Front is perhaps the most visceral and distressing recounting of the summer that is etched into the hearts of all Australians… all except maybe one.
The devastating imagery Martin pieces together is unlike anything I've ever seen before. The first-hand archival footage immerses you in fire trucks, control rooms, homes of affected communities and right on the front-line side by side with the firefighters. It is simply impossible for you not to have a physiological reaction; my soul was aching. The footage smacks you in the face with how violent and unforgiving bushfires really are while simultaneously breaking your heart as you get to know our main line of defence… VOLUNTEER firefighters! In a country where bushfires are a part of our yearly calendar, it is absolutely gobsmacking that our firefighters are predominantly volunteers and not compensated in any way for literally saving lives.
The overarching hopefulness that lingers throughout the film, despite the absolutely devastating events, is the way in which the country banded together to support those fighting the fires and the people most affected. If there is one thing we can be sure of it’s that Australians will be there to help each other when the apocalypse comes knocking, as it essentially did in 2019.
Martin weaves through the political presence or lack thereof, of Prime Minister of the day Scott Morrison, which provides an astonishing juxtaposition and points out a gaping hole in the way in which we prepare for bushfire season. Not only was the government's reaction to the bushfires revolting, but Martin reminds us that the government was warned this was coming and did nothing! The peppered remarks of Morrison become increasingly infuriating and the lack of action increasingly pathetic, as other nations like our besties in New Zealand and teams from USA and Canada are quicker to aid our firefighters than our own government.
24 million hectares were burnt, 3 billion animals perished or displaced, and 3000 homes were destroyed. These numbers are so huge they’re almost impossible to comprehend and as you watch Fire Front you are quickly overwhelmed with the breadth of this trauma. This film, whilst deeply devastating and distressing, needs to be watched and watched again. We must be continually reminded of the consequences of inaction and disrespect for our beautiful country. Martin has made one of the most impactful and important documentaries of Australia's history, immortalising a cataclysmic event which I hope we never forget, and I hope we never have to endure again.
Fire Front is screening as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, running in cinemas August 4-21 and online August 11-28. For tickets and more info, click here.