You are here:

Heaven's Burning

Name: Heaven's Burning
Director: Craig Lahiff
Released: 1997
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

4.9/10

Fair

1997

Director

Craig Lahiff

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Heaven's Burning succeeds in subverting traditional gender roles by presenting a female protagonist who actively manipulates her circumstances to escape a marriage. This provides a refreshing departure from standard victimhood clichés found in crime thrillers. The film also benefits from a diverse casting approach, featuring East Asian characters within an Australian urban setting. This provides a more multicultural lens than many genre films of the late 90s. However, the film lacks depth in representing LGBTQ+ identities or individuals with disabilities. It remains a character-driven genre piece rather than a deeply inclusive narrative.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Heaven's Burning have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The story focuses on a romantic conflict involving Midori, her husband Yukio, and a lover. There is no clear indication of LGBTQ+ identities within the narrative.

How does Heaven's Burning portray gender?

Fair

Midori avoids the submissive wife cliché by orchestrating her own fake kidnapping. She acts as the primary architect of her crisis to reclaim personal control.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Heaven's Burning?

Good

The film features an East Asian presence in Sydney through characters Midori and Yukio. This shifts the focus away from a purely Anglo-Saxon perspective.

How does Heaven's Burning represent religion and culture?

Fair

The plot explores situational ethics and rebellious actions through Midori's deceptive choices. It functions primarily as a kinetic, crime-driven thriller rather than a cultural critique.

Does Heaven's Burning include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no discernible evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in this film.

Present on Screen

Subverts female passivity by making Midori the architect of her own plot.
Features non-Anglo-Saxon protagonists in a Western urban setting.
Challenges traditional domestic expectations through the protagonist's rebellion.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities.
Provides no discernible portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
Fails to explore complex multi-layered identities beyond basic racial presence.

Official Synopsis

In Sydney, the newly married Midori is honeymooning with her husband, Yukio. She does not love him and fakes her own kidnapping to escape the marriage. Her lover is supposed to meet her, but fails to appear. She goes to a bank to get some cash, only to become a hostage in an unfolding robbery, until the getaway driver, Colin, saves her from his fellow robbers. They hit the road together, with the cops, her husband and the robbers in pursuit.

How are these scores produced? →