BEFORE: Clint Eastwood carries over this time, moving from actor to director. I scored both this film and tomorrow night's from my boss's pile of old Academy screeners - he got these in 2006, so since no one's claimed them from the pile yet, I figured they were up for grabs. Call it a perk, I pay enough money for premium cable and PPV to nab a freebie once in a while.
THE PLOT: The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
AFTER: The Japanese defense of the island of Iwo Jima is interspersed with narrations and flashbacks representing letters and recollections from the enlisted men and officers. Structurally, it's brilliant, but unfortunately my rating is (mostly) based on how enjoyable a film is, and there are parts here that go against that ruling, and are downright difficult to watch, like soldiers being shot to bits or set on fire, or blowing themselves up with grenades rather than being captured by the enemy.
But in depicting this, the film becomes a dissertation on the nature of war itself - questioning whether it's better to follow orders blindly, or to disobey said orders in the interests of staying alive. Does one better serve one's country by fighting and dying, or surrendering and living? And once a soldier learns that he and his enemy are mostly alike, does it make sense to continue to try and kill him?
Important questions all around - but, again, the score does not reflect significance, but my own personal satisfaction. With a high degree of difficulty (long running time, subtitles), the film's got a lot going against it - dare I grade on a curve?
Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, and Ken Kensei, with cameos from Mark Moses (last seen in "Born on the Fourth of July") and Roxanne Hart (last seen in "The Good Girl").
RATING: 4 out of 10 shovels
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