Letters From Iwo Jima

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by Willie Waffle

Letters From Iwo Jima

When Flags of Our Fathers was released back in October, it looked like Clint Eastwood had another Oscar winning movie to ride all the way to the Kodak Theater (and possibly break Martin Scorsese’s heart AGAIN), and Letters From Iwo Jima was to be a small, art house companion piece released in February to help the Flags of Our Fathers Oscar campaign. However, fate has a funny way of derailing the best laid of plans.

Flags of Our Fathers, still one of my favorite movies of 2006, never caught on with film audiences, and didn’t win any year end awards accolades, while Letters From Iwo Jima started to gain momentum with critics, and the Golden Globes. Now, Letters From Iwo Jima might snag an Oscar nomination for Best Film, and Eastwood might get a nom for Best Director (we’ll find out January 23). The movie deserves both, but neither is a certainty.

Set during World War II, Ken Watanabe stars as General Kuribayashi – the new commander of Japanese forces on the island of Iwo Jima. As he takes over, Kuribayashi realizes the situation is dire. The men are not well trained. They do not have the proper equipment or defense plans. Worst of all, not all of the troops think they can win. When the Americans make their move, Kuribayashi must rely on every traditional and non-traditional tactic he can imagine until reinforcements arrive.

Can Kuribayashi motivate the men and convince his superiors in Japan to fight for Iwo Jima?

When you see both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima, you quickly see why Eastwood is one of the most amazing filmmakers in the business today. While Flags of Our Fathers is an American movie through and through with its large sets, diverse cast of characters, big and loud scenes, flashbacks and massive scope, Letters From Iwo Jima (based on the book Picture Letters from Commander in Chief) is a Japanese movie in every sense. It’s a quieter, more personal movie about men forced to do what is "honorable" (whether you agree that it is honorable or not), even to the point of contradicting common sense. Most of all, Eastwood grabs your attention by focusing on the great actors bringing each character to life as they face death.

Watanabe horribly has been overlooked as everyone names their best performances of the year and handicap the Oscar race. Just looking into his eyes, you can see determination, fear, honor, defeat, and resignation, many times all in one scene as the proud General struggles with the battle in front of him. He is a commanding presence on screen and the way he makes Kuribayashi a tragic figure fighting to get his men to follow his modern ways and stay alive when they are trying to do everything they can to undermine him and disobey his orders will shock you.

Also, look for Kazunari Ninomiya as Saigo – a reluctant warrior forced into battle, who still resents what happened to him in the past. With many of the characters, we see the paths they took to get to Iwo Jima, but it is Saigo’s that is the one you will not be able to forget, and the one path that best describes why he has the feelings he does about the war and his Japan.

Letters From Iwo Jima is one to see whether it gets an Oscar nomination or not.

4 Waffles (Out Of 4)

Letters From Iwo Jima is rated R for graphic war violence.

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