Susan Granger’s review of “Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
Clint Eastwood’s back-to-back “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” are unique in that they present the same devastating W.W. II battle – but from different perspectives.
While the Americans eventually prevailed on Iwo Jima, the 20,000 Japanese troops there, faced with certain death, put up a heroic fight for 40 days although they were outnumbered five-to-one. Under the cunning leadership of Lt. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe of “The Last Samurai”), who had traveled and studied in America, they dug 18 miles of labyrinthine tunnels in Mt. Suribachi. While his men were prepared to “die with honor” to defend the tiny, volcanic island they considered part of Japan’s sacred homeland, Kuribayashi told them that each had to kill 10 enemy soldiers before they did, specifically American “medics.” One of his bravest cohorts is bon vivant equestrian Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), who rode in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Noble, compassionate and aware of their hopeless task, both are reluctant victims of Japanese militarism.
Screenwriter Iris Yamashita worked with Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby”), inspired by a collection of letters by Kuribayashi to his wife, daughter and son, published in Japan, as well as from hundreds of servicemen’s letters that were excavated decades later. Often read aloud, these letters introduce insightful flashbacks into the personal lives of the Imperial Army’s conscripted combatants, like Saigo (pop star Kazurani Ninomiya), a baker yearning for his wife and infant daughter; idealistic Shimizu (Ryo Kase); and suicidal Ito (Shidou Nakamura) who refuses to surrender. In Japanese with English subtitles, “Letters from Iwo Jima” is an extraordinary, resonant 10.
Subtle and non-judgmental, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” examine history within its context and emerge as strikingly effective anti-war statements.
