In 2006, Clint Eastwood released Flags of Our Fathers about the famous battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The film was told from an American perspective along with the iconic image of the men raising the flag on Mount Suribachi and its aftermath on those survivors. During production for that film, Eastwood realized that there's more to the story about the battle of Iwo Jima. Realizing that he only has half the story, Eastwood decided to tell the other half from the perspective of the Japanese. The resulting film wouldn't just be one of Eastwood's finest films but also a rare perspective seen from most war films entitled Letters from Iwo Jima.

Directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay by Iris Yamash*ta with a screen story co-written with Paul Haggis and based on the book Picture Letters from Commander In Chief by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Tsuyoko Yoshido. Letters from Iwo Jima is about the Japanese perspective in the battle of Iwo Jima from the mind of its general and soldiers. An examination on their struggles to fight the Americans, even without a huge defense, and having to use tactics. The film explores the Japanese as humans trying to defend their homeland from the Americans. Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, and Shidou Nakamura. Letters from Iwo Jima is a sprawling masterpiece from Clint Eastwood.

It's late 1944 as soldiers are digging trenches on the beach of the island of Iwo Jima. Arriving onto a plane is General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) who is going to lead the campaign on Iwo Jima, which is considered the last line of defense for Japan. Digging the trenches is a young baker-turned-soldier named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) who is being beaten by Captain Tanida (Takumi Bando) for his unflattering comments towards the island. Kuribayashi sees this along with Lieutenant Fujita (Hiroshi Watanabe) as he orders the beating to be stopped. Kuribayashi's suggestion to cut the food rations of Saigo and Nozaki (Yuki Matsuzaki) instead of beating them. Kuribayashi explores the island and realizes that a defense on the beach is too easy. Hoping to get some help from the navy and naval planes, he receives word from Lt. Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), who is a former Olympic gold medalist for equestrian, that the Fleet Navy has been beaten in the Phillippines.

Kuribayashi realizes with tanks not working and no naval support, it's only him and his army to fight for the island by themselves. After getting civilians evacuated, joining the army is a former Kempeitai officer named Shimizu (Ryo Kase). Shimizu is suspected to be a spy for the government by Saigo and friends while Kuribayashi is finding himself clashing with other generals and officers over his strategy on fighting inland instead of the beaches including Mount Suribachi. Making tunnels and caves on the hills and mountains, it was a strategy that proved the right idea following an attack of U.S. bomb-fighters destroying the camp. When Saigo is given a duty, he sees a horde of American ships arriving to Iwo Jima. The battle has now officially begun.

Fighting the American on inland trenches proved to troubling as Kuribayashi anticipated as all eyes now focus on the forces in Mount Suribachi. When Saigo is sent a message to Suribachi's superior Col. Adachi (Toshi Toda) for more machine guns, Saigo hears news from Kuribayashi to retreat northward. Adachi gives a note to Saigo for his officers and troops to kill themselves as they're overwhelmed by the American attack forces. Saigo tells them what Adachi has told him but also what Kuribayashi wants them to do. Saigo chooses not to commit suicide as Shimizu sees him leave convinced he's being a coward. Saigo convinces Shimizu of Kuribayahi's plans as they go north to another cave under the command of Lt. Ito (Shidou Nakamura). Ito sees Saigo and Shimizu learning that they had left Suribachi and is convinced of their cowardice only to be saved from Kuribayashi who told them that the two left the mountain on his orders. An attack on troops at night led by Ito proved to be disastrous as he relieves his command to his superior Nishi.

During an attack, a wounded U.S. soldier (Lucas Elliott) was taken as Nishi talks to him in English. When Nishi reads his letter, the soldiers realize how similar this soldier had with them. Shimizu reveals to Saigo about why he's in Iwo Jima as he had been discharged from the Kempeitai over insubordination. With the two soldiers confused about what they're fighting for after an attack on the cave forced Nishi to be blinded by a bomb, Nishi's deputy Lt. Okubo (Eijiro Ozaki) takes over for the remaining soldiers to join Kuribayashi. The dangerous journey to Kuribayashi's cave as Saigo had been recognized as they're seen as equals while Kuribayashi plans a final attack on the Americans on their last day of battle.

Most war films from America are often seen from their perspective to emphasize a sense of patriotism. While Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers is a bit about patriotism and the troubled role of being called hero by the surviving men who planted the famous flag. Letters from Iwo Jima is about the Japanese perspective from four different men as they write letters to their loved ones. The film opens and ends in present-day Iwo Jima where a group of archeologists go to a cave in the beginning and ends with them finding a box of letters. The letters reveal the background of these characters and their feelings about war. Men like Kuribayashi and Nishi have more knowledge about Americans as Kuribayashi had lived the country briefly as he was given a pistol that is seen in the film. While other characters might see Kuribayashi and Nishi as American sympathizers, it's not exactly true since they know how Americans think and how they fight.

Nishi is also interesting for his disdain of modern machinery as he and Kuribayashi seem to prefer the days of cavalry. Then there's the characters of Saigo and Shimizu, two different soldiers from different backgrounds who are also writing letters to their loved ones. Saigo says he is just a simple baker with a wife and a child-in-waiting at home while Shimizu is a character who is trying to maintain some honor only to be in conflict over what he's fighting for despite his loyalty to his country and Emperor. Credit should go to screenwriter Iris Yamash*ta with contributions from Paul Haggis on the approach to the film and story. It's really about a group of men trying to defend an island with little resources and little support as they end up fighting the Americans for nearly 40 days, when their superiors are convinced they couldn't hold them for that long.

Eastwood's direction is top-notch in every scene and framing of compositions he creates. Eastwood's taking on the Japanese perspective proves to be just as interesting as him previously taking his own native country's perspective. Shooting on location in parts of California and Iwo Jima, Eastwood creates a look that is a bit claustrophobic from the scenes with caves while going into hand-held work to capture the treacherous journey of Saigo and Shimizu. The exterior compositions in the widescreen look of Kuribayashi walking on the black sands of Iwo Jima on the hills is truly epic in the style of Sergio Leone, whom Eastwood got his break from back in the 60s. While using visual effects that were left over from Flags of Our Father along with some footage, he also gives another side of the Americans from the Japanese perspective proving that like the enemy, they might not be as sympathetic.

Eastwood deserves a lot of credit for taking on a different approach by seeing things from the Japanese perspective. Even in the flashback scenes of the individual characters as his approach to drama is subtle and intimate without resorting to heavy-handed manipulation. Particularly for the fact that he gives actors room to breathe on their performances which is part of Eastwood's laid-back approach to directing actors. Realizing that in the end, both the Americans and Japanese are human beings caught up in a conflict that neither really wanted to do. Eastwood's mastery in his direction makes the film a solid and sobering look at war and the men who fought them while trying to find a reason to fight.

Eastwood's longtime cinematographer Tom Stern does a wonderful job in creating a desaturated blue-green, tinted look to convey the harrowing look of the nighttime scenes of battle. Stern's camera work is brilliant in style with sunny, daytime exterior sequences as well as the grey, dark look for the battle scenes in the daytime. Stern's photography is brilliant both in style and substance. Eastwood's editor Joel Cox along with Gary D. Roach is wonderful in conveying the intensity of battle along with a leisurely pacing style that works in the film's dramatic sequence without speeding things up. Instead, Cox and Roach create a pacing that's relaxed while not making the film boring in its 140-minute running time.

The late Henry Bumstead and James J. Murakami along with set decorator Gary Fettis do an amazing job in creating the caves and trenches of the battle ground as well as the little village in Iwo Jima filled with Japanese-style housings and such. Costume designer Deborah Hopper does an excellent job in creating the tan-like look of the Japanese soldier clothing along with traditional Japanese clothing for the characters in the flashback scenes. Visual effects supervisor Michael Owens does a great job in the creation of the battle sequences of planes, ships, and tanks coming to the beaches with wide shots. The award-winning sound editing of Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman along with sound designer Charles Maynes do an amazing job in capturing the intense atmosphere of battle with layers of bullets, grenades, cannon blasts, and such for its sense of horror and tension.

The music score of Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens might seem a bit dramatic for some but it works to convey the sense of melancholia for the soldiers and what they're going through. With the use of pianos and a trumpet, the score is similar in some respects to the operatic approach of Ennio Morricone, who was the man that scored Sergio Leone’s famous Dollars trilogy that starred Clint Eastwood. The score is great in playing to its emotions without being overly manipulative or sentimental.

The casting by the late Phyllis Huffman is brilliant for its assembly of Japanese actors in playing these amazing characters along with an appearances from a few Americans. Mark Moses and Roxanne Hart are funny as an officer and his wife who talk to Kuribayashi in a flashback during a party in his honor. Lucas Elliott is great in his small role as a wounded soldier who is amazed by Nishi's compassion and celebrity. Ken Kensei as General Hayashi and Nobumasa Sakagami as Admiral Ohsugi are brilliant as two of Kuribayashi's officers who seem to disagree with him on his strategy as they're more concerned on fighting the Americans on the beach. Nae is wonderful as Saigo's pregnant wife in flashback scenes as a wife troubled by her husband being sent to war in a scene that involves other women whose husbands or sons are at war. Takashi Yamaguchi is good as a friend of Saigo who finds himself ill due to the waters of Iwo Jima.

Eijiro Ozaki is excellent as Nishi's loyal deputy Lt. Okubo who tries to warn soldiers about the possibility of surrendering while being one of the few officers who is amazed by Nishi's compassionate take on the Americans. Yuki Matsuzaki is good as Saigo's friend Nozaki who shares Saigo’s frustrations while making comments about Shimizu and his possible role in the battle. Takumi Bando is wonderfully memorable as Saigo's tough captain who is trying to prepare his soldiers for battle while belittling Saigo for his inexperience and criticism. Hiroshi Watanabe is great as Kuribayashi's loyal deputy Lt. Fujita who is prepared to fight with Kuribayashi to the end while trying to understand on what the Americans were going to do. Shidou Nakamura is also great as Lt. Ito, a fierce soldier ready to fight the Americans while baffled by Kuribayashi and Nishi's strategy only to take matters into his own hands where he realizes what the Americans are doing.

Tsuyoshi Ihara is amazing as the compassionate, sensitive Lt. Col Baron Nishi who, like Kuribayashi, understands the Americans and their strategy while dealing with the ways of modern warfare. Ihara's subtle performance is a standout, particularly for his scene with the wounded American soldier where he provides a sense of understanding on how this young man and his fellow troops are alike. Ryo Kase is fantastic as Shimizu, a former Kempeitai officer who tries to remain quiet and loyal only until his encounter with the wounded American soldier where he questions his loyalty and reveals to Saigo his insubordination. Japanese pop singer Kazunari Ninomiya is amazing as Saigo, the film's moral conscience of sorts who tries to understand everything around him. Ninomiya's thoughtful performance is superb as the observer who knows he's not a soldier but a simple baker while showing immense loyalty for his troops and most of all, Kuribayashi.

Ken Watanabe is brilliant in the role of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. Watanabe's commanding yet restrained performance as a general of intelligence, respect, and honor is definitely one of the most memorable characters in cinema. Watanabe's portrayal of this general from the way he knows how to punish a soldier without any physical abuse or where the Americans could land on the island is a surprise. More importantly, Watanabe understands of what a general is as he's a man who is willing to be in front of them during battle. It's Watanabe's performance that is filled with charm and regal stature that is rarely seen in war films as he gives this amazing general a sense of humanity and honor.

The Region 1 2-Disc Special Edition DVD from Warner Brothers & Dreamworks presents the film in its original, widescreen aspect theatrical ratio along with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound in Japanese with English, Spanish, and French subtitles. The first disc is the feature film while the second disc includes several special features. The first is a 21-minute making-of featurette called Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima. In the featurette, Eastwood discusses about his interest on taking the other side of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective. Having a copy of Kuribayashi's book, he called Paul Haggis to write a script while Haggis was still working on Flags of Our Fathers. Haggis felt that he could come up with a story but needed a writer of Japanese decent to help with the script. Haggis found Iris Yamash*ta who shares the same agency as she took on the job to write the screenplay.

Production designer James J. Murakami, who is a Japanese-American art director who had worked with Eastwood, was given the chance to design some of the Japanese housings and such while choosing the location of Malibu for some of the film's early beach digging scenes. He revealed that the reason that the digging scene couldn't be in Iwo Jima because it was sacred soil with the remains of those who died in that war. Scenes shot from Iwo Jima were Kuribayashi inspecting the land along with ruins and such much later on. Costume designer Deborah Hooper talked about the designs of the soldiers uniform where she made a different one in little detail to profile one of the main characters. For the clothing of Saigo's wife, Hopper chose not to use silk because at that time, silk was considered to be offensive during war time.

Eastwood said he wanted to be challenged in making the film where though he talked to actors in English with a translator, he admit it was strange in making a film where the director and actors couldn't really understand each other. Yet, the approach seemed to work where during post-production, editor Joel Cox revealed that he did all the subtitling for the film and when a translator checked on everything. It was revealed that during an initial cut, only four words were mistranslated.

The second featurette is the 19-minute The Face of Combat: The Cast of Letters from Iwo Jima. Featuring interviews with Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, and Hiroshi Watanabe plus casting associates Matt Huffman and Yumi Takada. Takada and Huffman, who did L.A. casting while his ailing mother Phyllis stayed in New York, discussed finding the right actors for each part. It was clear that Ken Watanabe would take on the role of Kuribayashi as Watanabe discussed his research. The rest of the actors interviewed talked about their connection to their respective characters while Eastwood revealed that for a longtime following World War II, the Japanese were never taught about the war or the battles until recently as for the Japanese actors and Takada, making this film make them feel closer to Japan's history as well as its nationalistic spirit.

The third 4-minute featurette called Images from the Frontlines: The Photography of Letters from Iwo Jima is essentially a collection of photos and promotional stills set to the film's music that includes behind-the-scenes shots of the film. Two additional features come in the form of promotional footage from the film's premiere and press conference, both in Japan. The 16-minute premiere segment at the Budokan theater on November 15, 2006 showed the actors, Eastwood, screenwriter Iris Yamash*ta, and producer Robert Lorenz attending the screening to an enthusiastic audience. Inside the theaters, the individuals attending talk to the audience about their feelings and hope for this film.

The 25-minute press conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Tokyo one day after its premiere feature the same people from the premiere talking about the film. Eastwood talked about wanting to make a film as a tribute to the Japanese people while the actors talked about Eastwood's approach to collaboration. The conference interviews also has the actors and collaborators speaking about the finished product as Tsuyoshi Ihara to finding himself speechless, even after he had compared the film to its companion piece, Flags of Our Fathers. Watanabe had hoped the film will be something of great importance to Japan since the film is about its history and shouldn't be ignored. Also in the special features disc is the film's theatrical trailer.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a brilliant, sprawling, and epic war masterpiece from Clint Eastwood, producer Steven Spielberg, and company. With a great cast led by Ken Watanabe, it's a war film that is rarely seen as it gives American audiences a perspective that is rarely seen as it's told with compassion and honor. More importantly, this is the type of film that has some historical importance for anyone wanting to know about World War II. While the film is superior in some respects to Flags of Our Fathers, credit must go to Clint Eastwood for finding two different stories about the battle of Iwo Jima and how two forces have similar struggles while fighting a war against each other. In the end, Letters from Iwo Jima is another touching and compelling masterpiece from Clint Eastwood.

Clint Eastwood Reviews:

A Fistful of Dollars (1964):

http://www.epinions.com/content_409453694596

For a Few Dollars More (1965):

http://www.epinions.com/content_411115294340

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly (1966):

http://www.epinions.com/content_226932133508

Million Dollar Baby (2004):

http://www.epinions.com/content_169020722820

Flags of Our Father (2006):

http://www.epinions.com/content_270128418436

Changeling (2008):

http://www.epinions.com/content_450086276740

Gran Torino (2008):

(Coming in Dec. 2008/Jan 2009)

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age