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Letters from Iwo Jima

Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki

"Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo  Jima" have been shot  back to back, although each film offers a different tone and substance. A fascinating second entry from Clint Eastwood, these twin offerings describe one of the most ferocious battles in history: the last stand by Japan against sheer numbers of American forces on the tiny volcanic island of Iwo Jima.

Though it was supposed to last for five days, the battle raged for nearly 40 days, during which 20,000 Japanese troops perished, outnumbering by three times the 7,000 U.S. casualties. But, an interesting tidbit, the actual toll of death and injury for the Americans was 28,000, against 22,000 Japanese. In fact, the U.S. sent nearly 100,000 Allied troops to win this battle, obviously the most crucial one that the Japanese engaged in. Strangely, this incident is only vaguely known in Japan, and only briefly studied in Japanese history classes, particularly by younger folks.  Why?  This is considered to be an equivalent to the suppressed story of the Japanese army torturing Southeast Asians and Chinese.  What it means is that some of history is hard to accept, and it remains shrouded just like the chaos of the Vietnam or the Iraqi wars by the U.S.  As a result, no major Japanese film studio has ever tackled a film about this battle.  Thus, Eastwood's directorial effort is creating an awareness in public consciousness. 

The film begins with the arrival of Lt. General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe), the former chief of the imperial guard, who defends the island by taking the unprecedented tactic of ordering  the excvation of 18 miles of tunnels of black rock.  Initally, his army seems rather reluctant in the face of his eagerness, as when he insists on a tour of the island by foot. Without any of the reinforcements that would come, average soldiers soon realize that basically it's a matter of holding out for as long as possible, so they obey his instructions to turn the mountain into a spewing machine gun. Among his brave men are Saigo(Kazunari Ninomiya), a sad-sack Everyman who has unwillingly left a pregnant wife to be drafted and is anxious to see his newborn daughter. Then there is Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), a dashing aristocrat and Olympic equestrian champion who once lived in California; Lt. Ito (Shido Nakamura), who goes his own way in defiance of Kuribayashi, but is unable to convince anyone to tag along, so he straps himself with bombs and heads into enemy territory by night; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), a former kenpeitai (police official) who contemplates risking his life to surrender.

In a flashback via letters, we see represented the unflinching scope of the ultimate choice of death. It's a poignant moment in which all the soldiers try to commit suicide with hand grenades rather than retreat.  By this time, troops are scraping by with weed soup and foul water, suffering from attacks by centipedes and the occasional flesh-eating earthworm.

Ken Watanabe portrays a stoic and determined persona of men who are gracefully taking on a noble sacrifice. Surprisingly, the newcomer Ninomiya slowly makes us inhabitants of his world, where the point of no return has been reached.

The film is shot by Tom Stern, who is the regular director of photographer for Eastwood's films, capturing saturated color that gives depths of authenticity. Though the film is fatalistic and melancholic throughout,  director Eastwood tries to create a minimalist approach to performance while showing a great depth of courage and nobility, emphasizing the way individual soldiers express themselves through crisis. As for now, it might have limited prospects for an Oscar nomination due to its subtitle, but it just might be "Banzai!" time very soon.

Cast: Ken Watanabe (Lt. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi)
Kazunari Ninomiya (Saigo)
Tsuyoshi Ihara (Baron Nishi)
Ryo Kase (Shimizu)
Shidou Nakamura (Lieutenant Ito)
, and Nae (Hanako).