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2006 – R – 141 min.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Primary Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shidou Nakamjure, Nae Yuki
Stars **** 1/2 (of 5)
Popcorn **** (of 5)
Film Type(s): Drama, World War II
Synopsis: Upon his arrival there, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Watanabe) walks the entirety of the Japanese Holy Island of Iwo Jima with his Officers. He had been reluctant to go there, but it had become imminent that the Allied forces that caused him to come. Much to the bewilderment of the older Officers and many of the enlisted men that had been on the island before him, he began to change their entire strategy for their defenses and instead began to dig deep foxholes and caves into the mountainside. Many believed his judgment was clouded from having been to the United States years before, but some like former Olympian Lt. Col. Nishi (Ihara) realized what he was doing. When the battle begins enlisted men like the drafted Saigo (Ninomiya) must deal with dysentery, battle fatigue, and how he can keep the promises he made at home and Kuribayashi must deal with dissention among his Officers in addition to keeping the enemy at bay. Their letters home tell the tale, but what connection do they have to Iwo Jima in 2005? Steven Spielberg and Eastwood served as Producers and Oscar winning Director Paul Haggis (with Iris Yamashita) scripted this film (from the book Picture Letters from Commander in Chief) and served as Executive Producer, just like they also did for its companion piece, Flags of Our Fathers.
Review: Originally conceived as a follow up companion piece to Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, this film tells the story of the Japanese side of the Battle of Iwo Jima, giving their perspectives on the war, the holiness (or not) of the island to them, and their home life in the form of letters going to and from home. In fact, the letter sequences are all well crafted proper flashbacks (as opposed to Flags extended ones), showing us the true motivation for each character. If there was a fatal flaw in Flags of Our Fathers, it was the decision to give each character, even the peripheral ones, equal importance, making it hard for the audience to follow. Letters does not have that flaw, instead choosing to focus primarily on two characters, one from each side of the Japanese forces, which was split much like the Japanese caste system. We see the enlisted man, a poor baker named Saigo (Ninomiya), who we see through the flashbacks had everything taken by the government and has promised his pregnant wife that he would come home when drafted to go to Iwo Jima and told to “Kill ten of the enemy before you are killed yourself”. But then we see the flip side of that in the General’s (Watanabe) flashbacks of him writing home to his well-to-do family not only during the battle but also during an ironic trip to the United States several years before the war. The Direction is well done and never heavy handed, which instead of focusing on the battle Eastwood focuses on the reactions of the characters to the battle. This technique of allowing the actors rather than the scenery in whichever scenario to dictate the story and how it is told has become his trademark, working to great effect for him in past efforts like Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby. All of the actors are excellent, with Watanabe, Ihara, and Ninomiya standouts. For those that saw it first, we see the reuse of visuals and flip sides of scenes done in Flags of Our Fathers during the battle (though no actors / characters from either film interact). Among the highlights are Saigo’s last act (which ties in with the opening sequence in 2005) and Lt. Col. Nishi’s finding a letter on a dead Marine. Another perspective to take on this film overall is that it is an overall journey come full circle for Eastwood. Many scenes are reminiscent of Akira Kirosawa’s Yojimbo, which was remade as Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars starring Eastwood, which introduced him to Don Siegel, with whom he did Dirty Harry, and both Leone and Siegel informed Eastwood’s work as a Director on Unforgiven, which (arguably) allowed him to make more films like Flags of Our Fathers, and in turn this film, returning to the Japanese culture and inspiration for the film that made him a star in the first place.
Awards Likely: Oscar Nominations for Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Sound Editing. It’s got very good odds of winning Director and Sound Editing. Fun Fact: This is the first Eastwood film (he’s had three before) to be nominated for Best Picture not to receive a nomination for Acting.
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