Letters From Iwo Jima

Letters From Iwo Jima

Director: Clint Eastwood

Year: 2006

Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara and Ryo Kase

     Filmed back-to-back with Eastwood's other film, Flags of Our Fathers, this film is a companion piece to the former. It tells the same story at Flags, but from the Japanese Army's point of view. Even though they technically are in the same cinematic universe, and cover the same events, there is literally nothing connecting the two films other than Iwo Jima itself, and Clint Eastwood, so it's easy to consider these two films as stand-alone war movies. 

     Ken Watanabe plays General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a commanding officer charged with defending Iwo Jima from an impending American invasion. As he arrives on the island, he starts making many changes to the tactics and how he treats his soldiers. It's very similar to Patton in that respect. Immediately, you realize Kuribayashi's style of leadership, and that he is in fact a very smart tactician. Other commanding officers don't agree with his less aggressive style, and there are points in the film where they take matters into their own hands. The one that sticks out the most is when a platoon of Japanese soldiers kill themselves instead of retreating to the command HQ as Kuribayashi ordered. 

     The film revolves around not only General Kuribayashi, but a multitude of characters. We get to know who they are and what life they lived before the war, and it's all told through their letters. Every major character is always writing letters back home, and through these we discover bits and pieces, eventually putting together a bigger picture. They allow us as the viewers to understand them more, and not see them as just soldiers. 

     That's what the film does really well. It humanizes everybody. Japan was the enemy in World War II, but it doesn't portray them in any such a way. The main theme is how quick we are to make assumptions, and how those assumptions can be destroyed. Eastwood portrays the Japanese soldiers in a way that makes you realize that these people weren't evil, angry enemies, but soldiers fighting for their country, much like we were at the same time. It's even enhanced further as an American Marine is captured, and as one Japanese soldier gets to know him, he feels sympathetic. After he dies, another Japanese soldier realizes that the two of them weren't all that different. 

     If you are not a fan of subtitles, you're going to be disappointed. 95% of the dialogue in the film is in Japanese. There is an English dub of the film available, but the actors actually speaking Japanese adds an element of realism to it that is often lost in a lot of North American films. Eastwood was always one for authenticity, and it's no exception here. Eastwood also keeps a more streamlined and linear story this time around, making it a lot less confusing that it's companion piece. There are a few flashback scenes, but only when they are absolutely necessary, and they aid in developing these characters. 

     If you liked Flags of Our Fathers, and if your a Clint Eastwood fan, this is definitely one war movie to check out. The story is superb, the combat scenes are a lot better than Flags, and the performances by Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya are excellent. It will keep you hooked from beginning to end.