Letters from Iwo Jima

I like Clint Eastwood as an actor but as a director I truly had doubts. His first directed movie I saw was "A Perfect World", I think it is a great movie. But since then he started making movies that are shallow, dramatic and somewhat pointless, at least I think so.

For the last couple of weeks I started watching any war movie I can get my hands on. I was almost out of it when a friend of mine suggested a movie about the battle of Iwo Jima WWII - "Letters from Iwo Jima". It is without a shadow of a doubt a cinematic marvel and by far the finest piece of work from Eastwood.


Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Ken Watanabe)

The movie is based on the Pacific Campaign of World War II 1945. The last stand of the outnumbered Imperial Japanese Army lead by Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Ken Watanabe) against the United States on the island of Iwo Jima located 1,200 kilometers south of mainland Tokyo.


Invasion beach seen from the top of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima

I'm a great admirer of Japanese honor, pride, glory, code and ethics. If someone saw "The Last Samurai" they will understand what I'm talking about. Ken Watanabe did an outstanding job in both the movies to show what Japanese honor is. The music is overwhelming it gives the exact amount of profundity the movie needs. Eastwood was right on target in every aspect of the movie.

We all know that soldiers of Allied Forces fought for survival and for the greater good of humanity but the question is will the soldiers of Axis Alliances be forgotten and will always be remembered as evil just because of their fascist leaders?

Related Links: Letters from Iwo Jima, Battle of Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Ken Watanabe, Clint Eastwood