The island of Iwo Jima is a death trap. The Japanese military forces have sustained a great loss. The last stronghold between the Japanese and the American troops is the island of Iwo Jima. The soldiers holding the island are under the command of General Kuribayashi (Watanabe). Kuribayashi spent time in America and understands the way American military works. He learns (early on) that his is very much alone: there will be no air support, additional troops, or ammunition, and they are completely outnumbered.
His other officers want to dig trenches and commit suicide when faced with the option of dishonor, however this is not Kuribayashi's plan. He has them dig tunnels and fight till the end, stating the above quote. Will his officers obey the orders, or will they follow tradition and choose death over surrender and losing.
Wow. Typically war films made by Americans show the American perspective of the war, with their victory and a faceless / generic enemy. However Director Clint Eastwood chose to make two films about the same battle...the American version "Flag of Our Fathers" and the Japanese side. How do you fight a battle that you will inevitably lose? These soldiers were told that they were going to die, either by their own hands or by the American army, and yet they continued to fight. The film does not glorify them, just humanize them. As the title suggests, the story includes the letters written by the soldiers to their families. Their world, and the film itself, are devoid of color. Before the attacks the land was in color and as the battle continues the color fades and fades, till it almost looks black and white. And instead of focusing on a single character, the story shows multiple characters and a few times fades in and out of the scene, and flashes back to the past.
--: the film is a war film and as such it is rated R for violence, and there is quite a bit of violence.
Rent it: I am not a Clint Eastwood fan, but I enjoyed this film. After taking an Asian Cinema class in college, it was interesting to see all the history present in this film..history that we do not learn in high school. Yes, there are subtitles, but this film is worth it!
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) 141 minutes
Rating: R for graphic war violence
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ken Watanabe as General Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara as Baron Nishi
Ryo Kase as Shimizu
Shido Nakamura as Lieutenant Ito
Hiroshi Watanabe as Lieutenant Fujita
Takumi Bando as Captain Tanida
Yuki Matsuzaki as Nozaki
Takashi Yamaguchi as Kashiwara
Eijiro Ozaki as Lieutenant Okubo
Nae as Hanako
Nobumasa Sakagami as Admiral Ohsugi
His other officers want to dig trenches and commit suicide when faced with the option of dishonor, however this is not Kuribayashi's plan. He has them dig tunnels and fight till the end, stating the above quote. Will his officers obey the orders, or will they follow tradition and choose death over surrender and losing.
Wow. Typically war films made by Americans show the American perspective of the war, with their victory and a faceless / generic enemy. However Director Clint Eastwood chose to make two films about the same battle...the American version "Flag of Our Fathers" and the Japanese side. How do you fight a battle that you will inevitably lose? These soldiers were told that they were going to die, either by their own hands or by the American army, and yet they continued to fight. The film does not glorify them, just humanize them. As the title suggests, the story includes the letters written by the soldiers to their families. Their world, and the film itself, are devoid of color. Before the attacks the land was in color and as the battle continues the color fades and fades, till it almost looks black and white. And instead of focusing on a single character, the story shows multiple characters and a few times fades in and out of the scene, and flashes back to the past.
--: the film is a war film and as such it is rated R for violence, and there is quite a bit of violence.
Rent it: I am not a Clint Eastwood fan, but I enjoyed this film. After taking an Asian Cinema class in college, it was interesting to see all the history present in this film..history that we do not learn in high school. Yes, there are subtitles, but this film is worth it!
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) 141 minutes
Rating: R for graphic war violence
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ken Watanabe as General Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara as Baron Nishi
Ryo Kase as Shimizu
Shido Nakamura as Lieutenant Ito
Hiroshi Watanabe as Lieutenant Fujita
Takumi Bando as Captain Tanida
Yuki Matsuzaki as Nozaki
Takashi Yamaguchi as Kashiwara
Eijiro Ozaki as Lieutenant Okubo
Nae as Hanako
Nobumasa Sakagami as Admiral Ohsugi
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