Not quite seeing the light...Letters from Iwo Jima
Suggested Netflix Queue Position: 2
The most valuable thing a government can have is men willing to die for an idea. Country, honor, glory, and so on. That's what soldiers are.
"Letters from Iwo Jima," directed by Clint Eastwood, is about some Japanese soldiers stationed on the rocky island of Iwo Jima. They wait for both reinforcements and a massive American fleet. The fleet shows up. The reinforcements do not. There's no way the Japanese can win, and no one pretends otherwise.
This film looks closely at how different people value their own life. Do you die for your country? If so, do you die fighting, or through honorable suicide? Or do you stay alive, because your family needs you more than your country does?
If you might not live more than 10 minutes, what is the "right" thing to do?
"Letters" is an elegant piece of work, alternating between brutal and gentle. There are long stretches of talking, various backstories of the soldiers, tempered with battle, explosions, blood, and insane (at least to American eyes) commanders. It drags a few times during its two hours and 20 minutes, but not for long. It has a quiet confidence, which is rare for a war movie.
In his review, Roger Ebert had this 1944 quote from General George S. Patton: "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
"Letters" was filmed back-to-back with "Flags of Our Fathers," which told the Iwo Jima story from the American side. It's interesting that you end up feeling sorry for everyone involved. No good guys or bad guys. Just guys, preferring to stay alive, do the right thing, and hopefully both.
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