Saturday, January 20, 2007

Letter from Iwo Jima


***Spoilers***
Letters from Iwo Jima
I saw this film last night.
I have to say it was much more emotional than it's prequel, "Flags of our Fathers". For those who don't know, these two movies, 'Flags of our Fathers' and 'Letters from Iwo Jima' are opposite sides of the story of the WWII battle for the small island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean. One from the perspective of the Americans attacking Iwo Jima and the other perspective from the Japanese trying to defend it.
Even though 'Flags of our Fathers' was released first I would almost recommend seeing Iwo Jima first. What wasn't made clear or even told us at all in 'Flags' was that Iwo Jima was the first battle being held on what the Japanese considered 'Japanese soil'. Up to that time the US had been fighting and 'chasing' the Japanese out of all the lands they had conquered. This was a 'huge' deal for the Japanese for if they lost on Iwo Jima the next step was mainland Japan and their families.
These movies are not to be viewed lightly. Director Clint Eastwood does not shy away from showing us exactly what war can do to a human body. It can be very difficult to watch at times. 'Iwo Jima' was even harsher than 'flags' in one particular scene. The Japanese start to realize that they are fighting a losing battle and it is time for them to 'save face' by committing suicide. They viewed surrender as a shameful act and one that would leave a mark on their families forever. So, one by one the soldiers took a grenade out of the box and pulled the pin, activated the plunger and held it close to their chests. The audience is put through several of these 'suicides' before any relief comes. However, the scene works because Eastwood is showing us how intense it would be to go through this and then we watch one of the main characters decide not to join in and leave the scene to try and prolong his life. I felt myself making the same decision as 'Saigo' in this scene and it became very real to me.
Ken Watanabe played an amazing role as the General leading the futile battle for Iwo Jima. I feel he deserves some mention from the awards givers for his role. I know he won't get it though, because this year everyone is infatuated with Eddie Murphy playing a pigmie (Dream Girlz). What a waste. Ken Watanabe shows us the full spectrum of a man that was enamored with America after having spent time there but now is fighting for his Motherland against Americans. He is accused of being a sympathiser many times but in the end he chooses to do the 'honorable' thing and fight to defend his country. We are shown just how much of a 'religious' thing it is to the Japanese. Their honor and glory in battle are all to follow and defend an emperor they believe to be a God. Even when it becomes apparent they have absolutely no hope of even slowing the Americans down they fight on, and the rhetoric to 'keep the faith' becomes even louder until literally only a few souls out of thousands are left.
I see Eastwoods idea to make these 2 films instead of just one simple 'American war film' a stroke of genius. Before going into these films I knew very little of the history of this battle. I didn't understand why it was so important. But as we see in 'Flags' and then in 'Iwo Jima' the famous planting of the American flag on the highest peak of Iwo Jima was more than just to claim victory in a single battle. It was the first planting of an American Flag on Japanese soil and signalled the beginning of the end of the war in the Pacific.
I highly recommend this film but caution that it is rated R for the gore and war violence in all it's gritty reality.

1 Comments:

At 5:41 PM , Blogger Mike said...

Nice review Kevin. I liked the movie for all the reasons you highlighted... though I had problems with it for other reasons. Call me conflicted on this one.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home