LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

Version: Netflix Instant; English subtitles

Letters From Iwo Jima is a war movie, plain and simple. Lots of explosions, gunfire, and war activity. So, why did I watch it? Well, I would consider my specialty to be Japanese cinema and entertainment, and this is one of the best American movies from the Japanese viewpoint. It's the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese point of view. If you've ever seen Flags of our Fathers, this movie is the companion piece. Both films are directed by Clint Eastwood. It's more historically accurate than The Last Samurai, another famous Ken Watanabe movie, though like that movie one of the main characters is fictional (Saigo here, Algren there).

Letters is almost entirely in Japanese. You can hear English coming from the US troops on the battlefield, and also in flashbacks, but that's about it. If you don't like reading subtitles, I believe they made a dubbed version, but I'm not sure where to find it. The version I was watching had white subtitles, and the dull color scheme of the film made them slightly harder to read. I'm not sure if the dvd is the same or those clammy yellow subtitles. That's something they could have made better.

The storyline is basically lead by two people: General Kuribayashi (Watanabe) and a conscript named Saigo (played by Kazunari Ninomiya). Throughout the movie, we see the two writing letters to their family and having a few flashbacks (but this movie is not all flashbacks like Flags of our Fathers). Saigo is the main focus, as the film starts and ends with him and we follow him around the island. Kuribayashi is a slight second, if not an equal focus. Watanabe is great here. He has sympathy for his troops, and gives orders to keep fighting for the homeland.

Now one thing to clarify here: if you know nothing of Japanese culture, you will probably be lost. This film centers on how the Japanese view honor. While American troops focus on coming home after the war, the Japanese troops focus on dying for their country. This is why Saigo stands out- he is determined to make it back to his family. The Japanese are supposed to die for their Emperor, and surrender is not acceptable. You see this when a group of soldiers kill themselves instead of retreating, and also when they discuss the shame of surrender. You'll get the action scenes right away. Once the action starts, it's guns all the way.

This movie is at least worth a rental. I don't think you need to see the companion film to make sense of this one. I didn't see it, and I understood this one pretty well.