KarateParty.org - Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) ***1/2

History is written by the victors, or so Churchill said, but Letters from Iwo Jima is a film that is told from the Japanese point of view, and tells the story of the build up and battle that occurred on Iwo Jima towards the end of world war 2. Shot back to back with the American perspective (Flags of our Forefathers), Eastwood has taken on an ambitious project to attempt to show both sides of the conflict, and at least for the Japanese side, he has provided a credible and moving experience.

When I was asked to review the film, I first considered whether or not to watch both films and treat them as pieces of a puzzle. I decided against it, because I believe that the films should be assessed on their own merits. For this reason, I have deliberately not watched Flags of our Forefathers prior to writing this review. That said, now that I have seen Iwo Jima, I was sufficiently impressed that I intend to watch Eastwood’s other offering to contrast the two films.

The battle of Iwo Jima, from a Japanese point of view, was a disaster. Of the 22 thousand troops posted to defend the island, almost all were killed, with less than a few hundred captured. The narrative is structured not from the point of view of the survivors, but as you might expect, from narrating letters from the lowest soldier to the thoughts of the commanding general. It also fills in the gaps between nicely, and shows snippets from back home in Japan to help develop the characters in the letters and show their emotions and fears as the battle progresses.

The film itself is well shot, footage feels authentic and the actors all do a great job of showing the darker side of war. And the film is indeed dark, from the outset, the Japanese face an impossible task. With little hope of reinforcement, there is a growing realisation that they have no hope of victory. The clash between the pride they have for Japan and to serve the emperor, and the knowledge that the will likely never see their families again makes for sad but compelling cinema. It is the film’s treatment of this contrast, through the narration of letters, and the tension that arises between the officers that set it apart from other war films I have seen.

The film is long, like many films these days, but it does pace well, and it did not seem unnecessarily so. Occasionally, following the subtitles got a bit distracting as one attempted to follow the action on screen, but the authenticity is worth the sacrifice in my opinion. (There is a 2.0 English track also if you prefer but I would strongly suggest you stick with the original version). My only major gripe is the overly cheesy ending, where the film has been hugely realistic, then almost breaks out into slapstick as the letters that from the film are found and cascade from the parcel they have been buried in. By adding this dramatic, but highly unrealistic scene, Eastwood does a little damage to the integrity of the film which up until then has been also documentary in nature. While pretentious, this is easily over looked and should not dissuade anyone from deciding to watch the film for themselves. Is this film for everyone? Probably not, but it is certainly a strong addition to the genre, and a contrast to the many films that have glorified war.

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