Crime and punishment. It’s a tale as old as the hills. You do the crime and pay the time. When you’re released, your slate is wiped clean. Fully rehabilitated and ready to be an active and useful member of society once more. Welcomed back into the community with open arms. Obviously, this hardly ever happens. In reality, ex-cons retain a stigma which can dog them their whole lives. Fire Will Come tells the story of a man who can’t escape his past.
Amador (Amador Arias) is an unlikely pyromaniac. After being imprisoned for his actions, he returns to his hometown. The locals aren’t exactly overjoyed to see him. He moves back in with his warm-hearted mother, Benedicta (Benedicta Sánchez). Despite being largely ostracised, he begins planning for their future and meets a friendly vet (Elena Mar Fernández), who knows nothing of his past. However, some things never change.
Fire Will Come is a thoughtful, poetic and wry story of one man’s attempts to reconnect with the world. Oliver Laxe allows his film to breathe. Letting the atmosphere seep in. As the story unfolds, we come to know Amador and the rather touching relationship with his mother. Mauro Herce’s meandering cinematography fits in perfectly with the film’s lilting pace. Fire Will Come is a marvellously unassuming and beautifully lyrical yarn.
Fire Will Come screens again at London Film Festival on 8 October.
