Letters from Iwo Jima

This was another great film directed by Clint Eastwood.

The film revolves around the experiences of Japanese soldiers tasked with defending the island of Iwo Jima from the impending American invasion.

Like Flag of our Fathers Eastwood is able to divulge into the actual story behind the events that took place leading up to and during the invasion of Iwo Jima. From the arrival of General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) and his decision to tunnel through Iwo Jima to the eventual fall of the island to the American forces, the audience is treated to a wholly different perspective of that event.

The hopes, fears, and ideals of the Japanese stationed at Iwo Jima are for all in intents and purposes depicted as accurately as possible. We are able to see and understand why General Kuribayashi thought of defending the island in the manner in which he did, the feelings many Japanese solidiers held for their American counterparts, and the misgivings towards the war itself.

The film is shot in faux-black & white and tries to create the grainy realism of war. Though at times the film seems to run long it is a very well put together plot and story. As far as acting goes Ken Watanabe is great, he generally is though. Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays the young soldier and father Saigo does a fine job with the character he is representing. The supporting actors all play their parts well. The one criticism I have is the depiction of the Americans in the movie. Whoever was playing those parts did not seem convincing.

It was interesting to see certain scenes from Flags of Our Fathers also in Letters from Iwo Jima. I was hoping for that and that it would be cool to see two films concerning the same subject but different perspectives cross into one another.

I will say that I believe that storyline and acting was superior in this film, compared to that of Flags of Our Fathers.