- In 1938, an Englishman emigrates to Australia and becomes a cane-cutter. Sisters Kate and Dusty fall for him.
- The tale of an outsider making good in the harsh tropical conditions of Australia's north, Fields of Fire is a two part miniseries from the award winning producers of The Leaving of Liverpool and Rabbit-Proof Fence. When Bluey (Todd Boyce, Great Expectations: The Untold Story) arrives in the north Queensland town of Silkwood in 1938, nothing prepares him for the challenging conditions of life on the land. Finding a job with a gang of cane cutters, Bluey discovers the true nature of hard work - a dangerous and risky occupation where sugarcane fields are scorched to rid them of snakes and other pests. As WWII becomes a growing concern, many of the men enlist to fight abroad, leaving behind loved ones. Struggling to earn the respect of the locals, Bluey soon catches the attention of two sisters, Kate (Anna Hruby, The Harp in the South) and Dusty (Melissa Docker), with their mother, Silkwood's grand matriarch, keeping a close eye on the newcomer and his intentions.
- Fields of Fire attempts , for the Queensland cane cutters what John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath achieved for the itinerant farm workers of Oklahoma. It tells human stories overshadowed by greater event in the form of World War 11 and mechanization of cane harvesting, against a backdrop of an unknown and picturesque way of life. Fields of Fire begins with the start of the cane cutting season in 1939. The young cutters pile off the train in the sleepy sugar town of Silkwood, laughing in the sun , unaware of the events in Europe that will change their lives forever. The ferocious bonding of mateship and the 6 o'clock swill are swiftly and competently sketched. There's no mistaking that this is back slapping ocker country, nor that the women , notably publican Elsie actually run the show. Between the idyllic, sweaty and snake ridden days of hand cane cutting and the post war mechanical revolution are a series of tales centring of new "pommy" cane cutter Bluey who gets roughed up, is befriended by the gentle giant Tiny, joins a rival Italian cane cutting gang , falls in love with a local blonde beauty , is lead astray by her brunette sister and after surviving the war is instrumental in inventing the mechanical cane cutter. Fields of Fire is entertaining, aimed at a wide audience and sheds some light on vanished and fascinating time and place.
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