Review/Summary of the Movie Letters from Iwo Jima

Summary:

This sister film of Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, is an emotionally engaging movie which bends your perspective of the battle of Iwo Jima. Instead of the usual American view of everything, Clint Eastwood directed the movie in almost total Japanese and it was an entirely different movie experience. Having seen Flags of Our Fathers, I could compare both movies with each soldiers' personal stories. The main character, Saigo, is portrayed as a weaker soldier put to work on the deserted volcanic island of Iwo Jima. As they build fortifications for the island, two American fighter planes bomb the construction process and delay the defenses for Iwo Jima. With growing hate toward their enemy, American ships finally begin to bombard the island. A scene shows them resting in the caves, with sand sprinkling from the ceilings from the ongoing artillery from the sea. This setting depicts the way of life for a Japanese soldier drafted to Iwo Jima.

When U.S. troops finally land, the Japanese slaughtered an enormous amount of them using stealthy tactics, and huge machine gun nests. But the tide soon turns when American troops weed out the soldiers in the caves and encounter mass suicide rooms with Japanese soldiers that have took a grenade to their chests. When the island is overtaken, Saiga finds himself captured by Americans as he attempts to kill one with a shovel. The movie ends when the time period switches to modern times as excavators discover a buried chest, full of personal belongs and most importantly, letters.

Review:

I thought this movie was very hard to watch at times when a multitude of Japanese soldiers committed suicide for their country. I was surprised that the thought of suicide was very normal in the ranks of the Japanese troops. I would not recommend this movie for people who get emotionally attached to films. This I believe could really make someone depressed because of its content. Then again, exposing America to such topics is important so people can understand how the other side felt about World War II.