LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

3 Stars – Thought Provoking

            This film by Clint Eastwood which looks at the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective is powerful.  Complementing his“Flags of our Fathers,” which looks at the same battle from the American perspective, “Letters from Iwo Jima” does so not only in story but in language.  The force of the film rests on its ability to weave a human tale such that we identify with the Japanese soldiers and we experience their futile attempt to hold back the American forces.  Thinking that maybe thirty or forty ships have attacked them, they look out to see eight hundred vessels.

The film is also powerful in its ability to humanize the enemies of war by recognizing that human beings have far more in common than we have differences.  But it is this moral message which also weakens the film as a story and undermines the very moral message Eastwood is attempting to make.  Unlike “Unforgiven” and “Mystic River,” this film borders on becoming a simple “message film” as does “Million Dollar Baby.”  But even that weakness does not keep this from being an unforgettable film with a thought-provoking message.

            The ensemble cast of characters wonderfully weaves officers with conscripted men as they all reveal their feelings in letters to their wives and families back in Japan.  Weaving the present with the past, the film suggests that a scientific expedition finds a hidden pouch of letters that were unable to be sent home by the Japanese before the battle begins.  These letters tell the stories of several, including General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) and a conscripted young baker who is ill-suited for the military named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya). 

            The genius of this comparison is the awareness that the General had of America, having been in this country, and the lack of awareness the young had baker due to his sheltered life under the Emperor.   For the General, he was accepted by our military leaders as an equal.  Gifted with a beautiful revolver to show him honor, General Kuribayashi nevertheless is bound by duty to use that weapon and his forces against the Americans in the 1944 battle.  For the baker Saigo, he has no aptitude or desire for war but lives in a culture where obedience to the Emperor and living a life of duty requires not only service but also suicide if defeated.  It is the genius of General Kuribayashi that made the loss of American lives so great in this battle as he all but abandoned the usual beach defenses and tunneled into Mount Suribachi and the surrounding hills in a brilliant defense against incomparable odds.

            It is seldom in cinema that we have two films which tell the same story from two distinct perspectives.  This technique will undoubtedly become a mainstay of historically-based films as we realize how much the perspective matters in understanding the event.  In both films, Eastwood has accomplished the task of helping the viewer identify with the film’s characters and seeing the “enemy” in a faceless, flagless, letterless inhumanity.  In a moment of power, the Japanese capture a young American who has a letter from his mother in his hand.  Reading it, they realize that he, like them, is simply a fellow human who writes to those he loves and they encourage him to do what is right.  If we can learn that lesson, then perhaps our warring madness can be overcome with our acceptance of one another as we realize we are all part of the human family.

 

Discussion:

1. The hopeless task set before General Kuribayashi does not cause him to surrender as he fulfills his duty to his Emperor and himself.  For him that was the “right” thing to do.  In the Christian faith, our teaching of the “just war” tells us it is not “right” to engage in a battle we have no hope of winning.  How do you believe these two ways of life collided and created this costly battle at Iwo Jima?

 

2. The dignity with which Kuribayashi treated Saigo was a central thread holding this tale together.  Do you experience such dignity from the people who supervise you or do you express such dignity to those you supervise?  What happens when such dignity it is missing?

 

3. The parallel nature of this film causes us to identify with the Japanese and feel overwhelmed by the Americans.  How easy do you think it is to change group identity?  How could we use the power of film to change our perspectives?  How often do films fuel our distrust rather than create trust?