Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

	Directed by: Clint Eastwood	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/War NORWEGIAN TITLE Brev fra Iwo Jima RUNNING TIME 140 minutes
	Produced by: Clint Eastwood Robert Lorenz Steven Spielberg
	Written by: Iris Yamashita

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
General Kuribayashi	Ken Watanabe	½
Saigo	Kazunari Ninomiya	½
Baron Nishi	Tsuyoshi Ihara
Shimizu	Ryo Kase	½
Lt. Ito	Shido Nakamura	½

Review

For a seemingly insignificant little island like Iwo Jima, far off the Japanese coast, to have two high-profile films made about it in one year seems excessive. What Eastwood has done with Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima is highly interesting, if not downright groundbreaking in film history: portraying a battle from the perspective of both sides, shooting it (almost) simultaneously, and making it into two separate films. What is perhaps most impressive about this endeavour is the different tone he manages to give his two entries. Whereas Flags of Our Fathers turned out to be an disjointed and flawed message movie, Letters from Iwo Jima is a harrowing delve into Japanese culture and moral values. Another relief is that the two films rarely overlap – neither narratively nor thematically (aside from the fact that they both deal with war).

There are a few aspects that make Letters from Iwo Jima different from almost every other war movie. The most noteworthy is that not only do we know from the start what the outcome will be, but so do all of our protagonists. The knowledge of their defeat, and that they are all there on that island to die, gives the film a rare psychological perspective. Eastwood's most prominent achievement here is how he conveys the codex of the Japanese army. Their idea of honour and respect and their value system is quite different from our modern Western valuation of individuality. Despite the horror and apparent meaninglessness, the film's respectful and balanced representation of the Japanese provides a different point of view that is more enlightening than exploitive.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a sober, nuanced film. Eastwood's pacing and consistency are far superior to that of its twin. The film isn't free of sentimentality, which is good for a film with as much poise as this one. It stays close to its characters, letting us creep under their skin. The brilliant Ken Watanabe invites us into his realm of thinking. And as our protagonist, Saigo, Japanese teen idol Kazunari Ninomiya proves that the combination of pop star and credible actor is actually possible. There's nothing heroic about Saigo; on the contrary, it's exactly his cowardice that keeps him alive.

Fortunately, Eastwood isn't particularly interested in politics this time around. Instead, he's focusing on strategy and tactics, which is so often undermined in war movies. This makes Letters from Iwo Jima a fresh experience, not only because we're spared the overexposed American patriotism, but also from a technical and narrative perspective.