Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

O An excellent must-see
X Good video rental
O Mediocre
O Rent something else

Review by Jason Pyles / May 29, 2007

The masterstroke of “Letters From Iwo Jima” is its ability to depict both warring nations, the United States and Japan, with humanity. Lesser movies just show us “the enemy.”

“Letters” is a companion movie to Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” (2006). The former shows the battle at Iwo Jima primarily from the Japanese perspective, while the latter shows the battle from the American point of view. But “Flags” goes amiss as it strays from the island into the controversy of a famous photograph.

“Letters” is the better movie. The dialogue is almost entirely in Japanese, so be prepared to read some fast subtitles. We follow the perils of a few Japanese men and learn of their inner thoughts and struggles through hearing a narration of their letters home.

With interest and concern, we follow these men and see what happens to them. This is a bizarre movie in that it tends to make us root for the Japanese, rather than the Americans. More accurately, we don’t want either side to be killed.

In addition to being a good war movie, “Letters” is a good drama that depicts credible characters. It’s fascinating to compare and contrast the two cultures.

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Ken Watanabe / Kazunari Ninomiya / Tsuyoshi Ihara
141 min. War / Drama
(Original MPAA rating: R)
Edited version age recommendation: 15 and up

DVD release date: May 22, 2007
Copyright 2007.
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