Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

 Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood

USA

Created as companion pieces to one another, Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers tell the story of the battle at Iwo Jima during World War II from the perspective of the soldiers from each country. Both were directed by Clint Eastwood and they were released within two months of each other in 2006. Letters from Iwo Jima was well-received in Japan, where it premiered, which is remarkable considering the subject matter and that it had an American film director and production company. In fact, what makes the film so interesting is this is the first American war film production told entirely from the viewpoint of soldiers fighting against us. The dialogue also happens to be almost exclusively in Japanese. The film was nominated for four Academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director. 

 

While Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of selling the war at home to American citizens by urging them to invest in war bonds, Letters from Iwo Jima is more of a straight-forward war picture. It tells the story of how the Japanese fought and lost at the island of Iwo Jima, and the repercussions that the soldiers faced for failure. Iwo Jima was sought after by the U.S. for it’s proximity to the Japanese mainland. Our military could use it as a base to rally troops and house bomber airplanes. The Japanese soldiers knew that if Iwo Jima fell, the war would basically be over for them so this battle was viewed as a “last stand.”

The story focuses on a simple baker named Private Saigo, and his interactions with soldiers of other classes such as a disgraced former Kempeitai (Japanese military police), Private Shimizu, Olympic gold medalist Lt. Col. Takeichi Nishi, and General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who commanded the final showdown with the Americans on the island. Saigo is played by Kazunari Ninomiya, a boy band member turned actor, while Kuribayashi is played by Ken Watanabe, who was Oscar-nominated for his supporting role in The Last Samurai. Both are given moments to shine as Saigo is hopeful to return to his life outside the military and be with his young bride and newborn child while Kuribayashi wishes to bring honor and victory to Japan. Unfortunately, events threaten the goals of both of these men as they strive to do the right thing in the chaos of war. 

 

Seeing the conflict through the eyes of the Japanese makes the tale more unique and it causes the viewer to come to understand more about the motivations and concerns of the different kinds of soldiers that fought against us. The soldiers are conflicted by different feelings of obligation to country, family and self. Honor and loyalty play a large part in the daily lives of the soldiers and they are constantly being told to be ready to die for their country as if it is predetermined. Their obligation to bushido code require them to commit suicide if things look bad to uphold their honor. There is a grisly scene in which this happens with some soldiers. Saigo holds onto his hope that he may someday see his family again to force himself to keep going despite the insanities of war swirling around him. 

 

Letters from Iwo Jima's style is interesting in comparison to modern war films like Saving Private Ryan because Eastwood shuns the “shaky camera” look that is employed so often to create a sense of realism in the battle scenes. The filmmakers instead go for a more moody, dark and gloomy look with plenty of fog so the landscape looks alien in the dark. This emphasizes the soldiers’ feelings of hopelessness and of not being able to escape their impending doom. Similar in effect to a film noir, there is an air of dread mystery that pervades the combat sequences which creates a sense of isolation and anxiety. The film uses a muted color palette to emulate the black & white films of the era.  The Warner Brothers logo that appears at the start is even a silver color to make it look like it could be period specific.

Overall, this film makes a fine addition to the repertoire of the prolific Clint Eastwood as a director, and stands with Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River as one of his great recent films. While I must say that I feel Letters from Iwo Jima is superior, Flags of Our Fathers is worth watching as well and they make fine companions to each other. It is beneficial that they are vastly different in content so they both remain engaging even if they are watched back-to-back. In both films, the enemy appears little so they do not seem caricatured as evil foreigners in each film. Both movies focus on the good and bad sides of each military and it makes the films appear more honest for doing so. Eastwood has directed so many great films in the last 35 years that it is easy to see he is one of the greatest living directors. He has touched so many aspects of film, both in front of and behind the camera, that it would be hard to imagine Hollywood history without his presence.

Rating: 9/10

-Ryan Sallows

Next time: A review of Best Picture-nominated British drama, The Queen.