Review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) by Sameer R — 11 Jul 2011

A heartwrenching, very emotional, very uplifting story. It is one of Eastwood's best films he has ever made and a personal moving movie for the talented director. I cried during the emotional aspects(a scene where a soldier is forced to shoot a family's dog but fails due to his empathy on the small family) and not because it is from a Japanese viewpoint, but because war is definetly nnecessary which will cause countless lives and foolish decisions.

I saw Japanese soldiers scared in the moment of battle while using violence on each other out of fear and stupidity. The same goes for the American soldiers where in one scene a soldier shoots two Japanese hostages out of ignorance and possibly even fear.

Eastwood's film also addresses the strong sense of courage and hope. The letters is a strong theme in the picture and flashbacks an example would be Ken Watanabe's character past as a simple man who misses his friends and family.

Eastwood showcases his strong diecting skills, the cinematography is moving as is the production design and the moving musical score, special/visual effects all edited very well that is now considered a triumphant masterpiece.