I didn't know anything about this film - watched it on a plane while scrolling and killing time - and wow. The film brings together footage from people on the ground - mostly firefighters and residents - and it brings home exactly what's went on and what people faced during those terrible fires. The editing and people's actual footage really brought the reality to the screen. I've seen bush fires before but this stunned me. If you live in Australia, this should be a must watch. Fires like we've never seen. And it really showed what an amazing job our RFS and firies do - and the strain and impact it has on them.
The film does get political at times, but let's face it, there were some very stupid things said, some ignorance and carelessness, and some very poor decisions made at the time. The film just showed how people on the front lines felt about those moments and how they felt about what was happening. You want to talk about fires, talk to a firefighter. We have a new rating 'catastrophic' introduced in 2009 because things are not the same, and the firies are saying it themselves.
Where I live in Qld, I've had, on numerous times, to prepare my property, and face that decision of stay and fight or get out. After seeing this film, and what these fires are now like, I think the choice to leaving earlier will be just a bit easier. We haven't seen anything like this.
This film will stay in my memory, and I salute all our RFS and emergency service personnel and volunteers.