Review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) by John G — 25 May 2010
Another fine outing from Clint Eastwood, he portrays the pointlessness of war in a gently understated way, still capturing the essence of men giving their lives for their country. More men lost their lives in this battle, which lasted one month, than on the whole of the Normandy invasion.
Eastwood tells the story from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers, and it's the mirror image of Flags of our Fathers, the same story from the American perspective. Both films were shot at the same time.
It was a brave decision of Eastwood to take on this project - shooting a foreign language film - but it works. Ken Watanabe is brilliant as ever, as General Kuribayashi. The American soldiers were always given hope of one day going home; the Japanese soldiers were always told they would never go home.
Two cultures.
This review of Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) was written by John G on 25 May 2010.
Letters from Iwo Jima has generally received very positive reviews.
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