Flags of Our Fathers

Unlike any other war film we have ever seen, Flags of Our Fathers isn't just about the battle to take the Pacific island of Iwo Jima in early 1945 and the men who made it happen, but also the necessity of the selling and marketing of heroes in order to further the war cause. Cutting back and forth between grisly battle scenes and homeland events recreating them in order to make a buck for bonds, director Clint Eastwood clearly has a lot more on his mind than just making another slick document about World War II. Flags asks many questions about the true nature of heroism and the need to sell an image, in this case the extraordinarily memorable photo snapped of the six vets who planted the American flag atop Iwo Jima in the first week of that bloody encounter. Three of them would later die and the other three (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillipe and Jesse Bradford) would be shipped back home and sent on tour to recreate the iconic event at rallies all over the country. Their efforts raised billions in war bonds but would eventually haunt them the rest of their lives as they felt the true heroes were their buddies who died taking the island. Flags convincingly shows the power of the media, even some 60 years ago, and its role in capturing a picture that many thought was partially responsible for rallying support that eventually led to victory. A masterful film from a master filmmaker, Clint Eastwood simply tops himself again, following his Oscar-winning Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River with a fascinating, ironic and highly pertinent film that should resonate for a current generation now engaged in yet another war that was also "sold" to the American public. An exciting, thought-provoking and moving motion picture experience, Flags of Our Fathers attempts to define what being a hero is really all about.