This film and companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers (2006) is one of the more technical films on this list. Although it does have a message that war is futile, it tends more to focus on people that overarching themes. More than Flags of Our Fathers, it focuses on the Battle of Iwo Jima, rather than the aftermath and impact the battle had on the overall war.
The movie follows three main characters. Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) is a lowly baker conscripted to the war, General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe), who has been assigned command of the island, and Ryô Kase), a former elite commando who has been sent to the island of Iwo Jima as punishment. These men provide narration in the form of letters sent home to their loved ones.
This is a much more technical film than Flags of Our Fathers. Rather than push some message about war and how bad it is, it presents a depiction of how a battle took place, complete with specific references to troop movements and numbers. That doesn't mean this film doesn't have an emotional core to it. Instead, I feel like I can connect to the human fears of that are felt during battle and war in general.
I suppose what the big thing for me about this film is that growing up in a Western society that fought against Japan in WWII (in fact my hometown was even attacked by the Japanese), I grew up with a different image of how Japanese soldiers were. Before I saw this film I always saw Japanese soldiers as ruthless killers who would rather die than surrender the motherland to the Allied troops. This film made me realise that the soldiers fighting for Japan were just like the soldiers fighting for Australia or America, they were conscripts who had no desire to fight. In one flashback, we find out that Saiko has left behind a pregnant wife who wants their child to grow up with its father around.
This film's visuals are also noteworthy. Tom Stern's washed out palette makes the film look almost black and white. This imagery intensifies the weariness of the Japanese soldiers as they make their final stand on Iwo Jima. Apart from some shots of American battleships recycled from Flags of Our Fathers, this film employs very little CGI, which is something of a rarity in modern war movies. This makes for a more genuine feeling film.
Ken Watanabe has the biggest challenge of the three lead actors as he is playing the only real person. Watanabe read the letters written by Kuribayashi during the battle and has been praised for his accurate portrayal of the man. Ninomiya is fantastic as Saigo, a character who I found very relatable for his everyman qualities.
Verdict: Eastwood has directed a remarkable war film that makes history accessible but also provides great entertainment for war film buffs.
This is a much more technical film than Flags of Our Fathers. Rather than push some message about war and how bad it is, it presents a depiction of how a battle took place, complete with specific references to troop movements and numbers. That doesn't mean this film doesn't have an emotional core to it. Instead, I feel like I can connect to the human fears of that are felt during battle and war in general.
I suppose what the big thing for me about this film is that growing up in a Western society that fought against Japan in WWII (in fact my hometown was even attacked by the Japanese), I grew up with a different image of how Japanese soldiers were. Before I saw this film I always saw Japanese soldiers as ruthless killers who would rather die than surrender the motherland to the Allied troops. This film made me realise that the soldiers fighting for Japan were just like the soldiers fighting for Australia or America, they were conscripts who had no desire to fight. In one flashback, we find out that Saiko has left behind a pregnant wife who wants their child to grow up with its father around.
This film's visuals are also noteworthy. Tom Stern's washed out palette makes the film look almost black and white. This imagery intensifies the weariness of the Japanese soldiers as they make their final stand on Iwo Jima. Apart from some shots of American battleships recycled from Flags of Our Fathers, this film employs very little CGI, which is something of a rarity in modern war movies. This makes for a more genuine feeling film.
Ken Watanabe has the biggest challenge of the three lead actors as he is playing the only real person. Watanabe read the letters written by Kuribayashi during the battle and has been praised for his accurate portrayal of the man. Ninomiya is fantastic as Saigo, a character who I found very relatable for his everyman qualities.
Verdict: Eastwood has directed a remarkable war film that makes history accessible but also provides great entertainment for war film buffs.
