Fireline (2024)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

A group of incarcerated men are tasked with fighting the wildfires that burn outside of their prison walls. Among that group is Otto Reyes (Bobby Soto), a man anticipating being released on early parole. Only, his parole is denied. Fireline sees him struggling to get in contact with his daughter by any means necessary, while attempting to save the lives of many. 

Fireline felt like a really odd concept to me. The idea that a series of incarcerated men are working as firefighters seemed like something completely outside the realm of possibility. Not until text appeared on screen as the film came to a close did I realize that this is actually something that happens. Suddenly the concept shifted from odd to interesting. Fireline quickly became something that I could endorse and appreciate. It’s sort of a shame that this revelation doesn’t come until the end of the film, as I spent the entirety of the film trying to wrap my head around what was taking place. While things eventually work out for Fireline, I do wish that this information was presented to viewers earlier. 

Additionally, to not know the reason as to why these men are incarcerated makes it challenging for viewers to connect with them. We see that they are genuine in their conversations with one another, and their personalities aren’t far off from what one might see in the standard protagonist of any other film. However, Fireline still presents viewers with a group of incarcerated individuals, and that comes with a stigma–one that is often warranted and is incredibly difficult to look past. I think I needed some more insight in regard to the characters as well, and Otto’s relationship with his daughter does alleviate some of the struggle in this regard, but I’m not sure that it’s enough. 

What does work incredibly well is the cinematography, the set design, and the ultimately immersive nature of the more intense moments of Fireline. The bright burn of the flames that engulf the world around our characters and threaten their lives, the thick, dense, dark smoke that engulfs them and the screen as a whole, and the often rattled nature of the camera in these moments create the sense that we are there, suffering the same fate as those on screen. As dark and light converge, interestingly both with the intention of consuming the characters, there's a heaviness that befalls the film as a whole. For the first time, simply due to the fact that they are human, the characters truly resonate with us. 

I wish Writer-Director Robin Takao D’Oench would have presented us with more information in the beginning of Fireline, that we could have been invited into the reality of the story earlier in the narrative. The fact that he didn’t hinders the film’s ability to be truly successful in the early going. However, by the time the film comes to a close, it’s brilliantly immersive–simply impeccable. 

Written & Directed by Robin Takao D’Oench. 

Starring Bobby Soto, Joshua Caleb Johnson, Fabian Alomar, Darin Cooper, etc. 

7/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE