Review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) by Jeff B — 09 Aug 2010

In 1930, the film All Quiet on the Western Front, like the novel it was based upon, caused a stir among the American public not just for its pacifist bent, but also for tackling World War I from the German perspective. That Letters from Iwo Jima approaches World War II from the Japanese perspective does not make it as profound as its forebear. That it gives us one of film?s most honest assessments of the effects of war upon the human condition makes Letters, perhaps, even more profound?if only because pacifism is not the focus. An even-handed account of soldiers caught between a predilection to duty and an intrinsic need to survive, the film goes beyond the ?War is Hell? mantra of Saving Private Ryan and Flags of our Fathers, effectively portraying the human factor as a steel ball caught between two others in an active Newton?s Cradle.

Director Clint Eastwood?s R-rated companion piece to Flags, Letters from Iwo Jima centers on the Japanese perspective of the Battle of Iwo Jima, following the plight of two soldiers-one a general (Watanabe) and the other a draftee (Ninomiva)-as they witness their comrades killed along the front lines of the Pacific theater.

Shot against a pallid, almost colorless, canvas, Eastwood brings the craggy funereal beaches of Iwo Jima to life through pure character. In investing much of the running time to reading the letters written home by the soldiers, Eastwood gives the film a sincere and compelling narrative voice which anybody, regardless of ethnicity, can wholly sympathize with.

Bottom line: More than a companion piece--purely profound filmmaking.