Review of Flags of Our Fathers (2006) by Koon Yen L — 28 Jul 2009

The thing about Flags of Our Fathers, and perhaps a reason why most people tend to prefer Flag's counterpart Letters from Iwo Jima, is that it is not a straight up war flick but ultimately a story about the famous photograph "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima". Sounds dull on paper but the film is made in such a tender, intelligent and thought-provoking way that I'm entranced every time I watch it. No, the film isn't centred on the battle for Iwo Jima but there are still plenty of battle sequences to convey the chaotic, brutal conditions and they succeed in getting one of the films primary points across - what makes a hero? The "flag-raisers" who are shipped back home are paraded around the country as heroes to raise morale and promote war bonds but what about the men still out there? What about the men who have died, including half of the six men who raised the flag in the first place? The scenes set back in the States are fascinating as they deal with these questions as well as the confusion over the fact that the famous photo was actually of a replacement flag being raised, not the original, not to mention who was actually IN the photo. There's a brilliant scene where a clueless Bud Gerber of the Treasury Department learns the truth about the photo right as he's pitching the money-making bond tour to the survivors - "Who is in the goddamn picture? Are ANY of you guys in the goddamn picture?".

The three survivors: John Bradley, Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon each deal with the fallout from that fateful day on Iwo Jima in their own way - Bradley (played by one of my favourite actors Ryan Phillippe) does his duty calmly and quietly, Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) is the opportunist, though no more so than his fame-hungry girlfriend while Hayes (Adam Beach, putting the horror of Windtalkers firmly behind him) can't cope with the celebrity thrust upon him while so many of his deceased comrades are forgotten and resorts to alcoholism and self-destruction. Throughout the film we travel backwards and forwards through time, to various points during the battle, to the bond tour, to the post-war years and also the present day where John Bradley's son James interviews Iwo Jima veterans and friends of his dad to help put together the book that the movie is based on. It's a fantastic way of telling the story and combined with a simple but memorable and emotive musical score (created by director Clint Eastwood himself) and moving ending helps create one of the most engaging and enlightening movies I have ever seen.