Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima has been called the “completion of the Iwo Jima saga,” with the first part being Flags of Our Fathers (released in October of 2006). This description is true to the extent that each film shows audiences a different perspective of the battle—Flags gives us the U.S. and Letters the Japanese—but the films can also stand alone, apart from one another, and remain complete works. A person does not need to see one to understand the other, but it is quite interesting to watch them both so that one can gauge an overall perception of the battle. In a tremendous feat, Clint Eastwood directed the films back-to-back, and it isn’t a stretch to say that Letters is the better one. While Flags of Our Fathers is a good picture by all accounts, it is still filled with flaws. By contrast, Letters from Iwo Jima will likely go down in history as one of the greatest war movies ever made. Does it deserve such status? Quite possibly. It certainly has its fair share of powerful moments. For one thing, the Japanese knew they were going to lose, and much of the film’s strength lies in illustrating their complete and utter resignation to death. Much like the story of the Alamo, they were overwhelmed by incredible odds, but kept fighting to the last man. It is this inevitability, this certainty of loss, which ultimately fuels the picture. As such, Letters from Iwo Jima has a focus that Flags of Our Fathers was sorely lacking. Another key ingredient to the picture’s success is the addition of Ken Watanabe as General Kuribayashi. In one of the year’s best performances, Watanabe plays a man who is well aware of what the outcome of the battle will be, but remains steadfast in his devotion to his country. Letters from Iwo Jima is not only one of the best films of the year, but it is also one of the best in Eastwood’s long career.

Directed by Clint Eastwood.
Written by Iris Yamashita.
Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe and Takumi Bando.

Rated R for graphic war violence. 141 min.

****½ so says The Fish