Review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) by Toddw. — 20 Feb 2007
I must admit to being more than a little apprehensive about seeing this movie as my family has emotional ties to that piece of volcanic rock in the Pacific Ocean. My uncle, a United States Marine, died in March of 1945 at the tender age of 22 of wounds sustained on that island.
Although not expecting the intensity that is the first 15 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan," I must admit to being more than a little taken aback at the lack of horror and pathos that that invasion engendered in the DVD I saw last weekend.
Instead, the entire movie seemed to focus around Native American Marine Ira Hayes and his experience on and after Iwo as a flag raiser in that historic second photograph, which ultimately led to his alcoholism and untimely demise.
While that flag raising was important, and its politcal ramifications are undeniable, entire movies have been structured around the premise of our invasions of foreign soil. Witness "The Longest Day.
" Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Guam, Guadalcanal, etc. set the stages for some of the most vicious fighting of World War II, and news photography of those battles horrified our nation, yet they seem to have been relegated to being historical footnotes to the political ramifications of jingoistic symbolism of which some of these battles gave rise to.
My uncle died far before his time for much more than that, I trust. If you really want to spare the easy political statement of "Flags...
This review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) was written by Toddw. on 20 Feb 2007.
Letters from Iwo Jima has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
