Letters From Iwo Jima

Reviewed by:
Pete Hammond

Letters From Iwo Jima is another masterpiece from the remarkable Clint Eastwood who does what no other American director has ever attempted: he paints a portrait of a major World War II battle from the other side. Much more than just a must-see companion piece to his masterful Flags of Our Fathers, this film stands on its own as proof of war's futility and it's a moving testament to the common humanity of the warriors. Shot almost entirely in Japanese (a major feat itself), this subtitled film is told entirely from their perspective as they build a series of caves and tunnels in order to defend the island from invading American forces. As the film goes on, we get to know these men and learn they really aren't much different than any young person sent out to fight for his country. Eastwood manages to humanize them and make us understand the "enemy" in ways few—if any—mainstream American war films ever have. Flags sought to define what heroism was all about, cynically showing the selling of heroes and the marketing of war for the homefront. Iwo Jima is profoundly sadder, focusing on what was really a suicide mission for Japan, letting us in on the private thoughts and universally human moments of these soldiers who knew they would probably never see their loved ones again. Eastwood's point is simple. There are no winners in war. It occurred to him as he was filming Flags that we rarely get to see something like this from two different perspectives and so Letters from Iwo Jima was born, based on the discovery of poignant letters unearthed there years later. Each of the movies is valid in its own way, and taken together, amount to a remarkable cinematic achievement for this iconic filmmaker.