As moving and universal as the story and its themes are, “Letters From Iwo Jima” never gives us the full picture of the Japanese warrior mentality. Yes, the men fought bravely and against all odds in a losing cause, and did so to their deaths. Nothing less was acceptable, as the film clearly shows.
But the Japanese war mentality was even more extreme and terrifying. Ironically, a recent book that describes this is authored by none other than James Bradley, who co-authored “Flags of Our Fathers” – the basis for the other 2006 Eastwood film on World War II. In Bradley’s “Flyboys” (a story of WWII pilots that has no connection to the film of the same name from last year, which centered on the first World War), Bradley explains the terrifying reality of Japanese fighters who digested the livers of American pilots as a way to increase their courage and fighting spirit. Also, school children were instructed to worship the Japanese Emperor – a loyalty that remained among the soldiers of “Letters From Iwo Jima,” until their dying moments.
Eastwood’s latest film is gorgeous but difficult at times to watch. The amazing battle scenes result in ugly carnage – a reminder of the consequences of war. The consequences of American victory are not addressed in this film, and were not the point of Eastwood’s less well received “Flags of Our Fathers.” Therefore, this sorrowful yet beautiful film may not satisfy those looking for the bigger picture of national and global implications of combat. Instead, what Eastwood gives us here is a picture of men, created in the image of God, who, for the most part, face death with blind obedience to their leader and country.
“Long live the Emperor!” the soldiers shout moments before their deaths – an empty rallying cry for the losing side of battle. The sadness the viewer feels is not so much because time has vindicated the other side of that fight, but because the obedience on display is misguided and destructive – something to which everyone can relate.
AUDIENCE: Adults
CAUTIONS:
Language: Some subtitled profanity.
Violence: Wartime fighting, including attacks from air, hand-to-hand combat, grenade explosions, gunfire, shooting of deserters, bayoneting, severed limbs, burned and disfigured bodies; a horse dies; a dog is shot.
Suicide: Treated as a noble form of death; several men fall on their own grenades, another shoots himself.
Sex/Nudity: None.
Drinking: Some drinking and smoking.
Religion: Some fleeting verbal references to God, and to the “other side”; prayer for the victory of the “Empire”; mention of a day when men will pray for the dead soldiers’ souls.
