By Dan Hudak
Clint Eastwood’s
Letters From Iwo Jima tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima
from the Japanese perspective, bringing dimension and humanity to
those heretofore portrayed onscreen simply as “the enemy.” Now the
Japanese soldiers have families to go home to, wives to love and
children to raise. They’re real people, not just caricatures of a
foe. Arguably for the first time this allows us to realize that
although a lot of American troops died during this crucial World War
II battle, the Japanese actually lost a lot more.
One of the fathers
of note is Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker who’s forced to leave
his pregnant wife (Nae Yuuki) when he’s given the “honor” of serving
his country. On Iwo Jima he complains to his friend Nozaki (Yuki
Matsuzaki) of his hatred for the war, and suspects the new guy in
the unit, Shimizu (Ryo Kase), is there to spy on them. All of the
men write and read to themselves letters from home, almost all of
which speak of the decrepit conditions, feelings of despair and love
for those they hold dear.
It’s interesting to
see not only the minutiae of the infantrymen’s daily lives, but also
the strategic planning of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken
Watanabe, The Last Samurai). He’s spent time in America, and
because of his knowledge of American technology he decides not to
defend the beaches, instead opting to build underground tunnels. His
character offers insight into the Japanese troops’ mentality. On the
eve of battle, Kuribayashi tells his men they’re “not allowed to die
until they’ve killed at least 10 enemy soldiers,” and that they
should “not expect to live.”
The battle scenes
are stark and unapologetic. Eastwood’s raw, washed-out colors and
fierce action show how the Japanese resisted but inevitably fell to
the American battalion. But the truly startling aspect from this
American viewer’s perspective is that with only a few exceptions,
most of the American soldiers remain nameless, faceless entities.
This would not have worked if Eastwood had not by this point in the
film spent an hour establishing the Japanese soldiers and getting us
to care for them, if not root for them.
The film was shot
back-to-back with Eastwood’s
critically-admired-but-box-office-lagging (a mere $33 million)
Flags of Our Fathers, and in many ways the two create an
artistically ambitious World War II opus. But aside from addressing
the same battle, these movies really have no connection: They do not
share the same actors and Letters never shows the American
flag atop Mount Suribachi.
What makes
Letters superior to Flags is not just the tenacity with
which Eastwood focuses on the detritus of the soldiers’ lives, but
also the fact that he uses flashbacks smartly and with a purpose.
Whereas Flags jumps from one era to the next each time its
individual storylines gather momentum, Letters articulates
and elaborates what’s happening to the men on the island through its
use of flashbacks, thus providing a deeper, richer perspective on
who the soldiers are.
It’s not a
remarkable feat for Eastwood and screenwriter Iris Yamashita to get
us to feel for these Japanese soldiers (especially if we accept that
there’s humanity in every story, be it during times of war or
peace). What’s remarkable is how well Letters demonstrates
bravery in the face of imminent death, and the authenticity with
which it brings the “enemy’s” side of the battle to life. This may
not win Eastwood another Academy Award, but it just might be the
triumph of his career.
Comments? E-mail
dhudak22@yahoo.com.
Film capsules by Hudak at
www.miamisunpost.com/moviereviewlist.htm.
Letters from Iwo
Jima
***1/2
Directed by Clint
Eastwood. Written by Iris Yamashita. Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari
Ninomiya, Ryo Kase, Nae Yuuki, Yuki Matsuzaki. Rated R.
-
A genuine
must-see: * * * *
-
Entertaining: *
* *
-
Mediocre but
not worthless: * * *
-
A wretched
waste of time: *
Also opening in
Miami-Dade County this Friday:
The Good German, The Hitcher.
