Letters from Iwo Jima

This is the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese side. It's an excellent movie, and, fortunately, limits the amount of gore. The film covers normal life for a Japanese living at home at the time; how such people can end up in the war; the secret police of Japan and their brutal methods; the way that the military services of Japan did not cooperate, but worked at cross-purposes; and the type of brutal discipline that the Japanese soldiers were subject to.

The film covers what was going on at Iwo Jima before the arrival of Kuribayashi, and how even he had trouble getting things to change on the island in preparation for the expected American attack.

The viewer also sees just how brutal the war can be from both sides. A wounded American is dragged into a cave by Japanese and then bayonnated over and over. Two Japanese prisoners are shot to death by their “guards.” We get to see the final banzai charge of the last of the Japanese soldiers, and how utterly useless such a thing was.

The film basically puts a human face to the Japanese soldiers, especially as they write letters to the loved ones they left behind.

The special effects are pretty good; the major thrust of the action is dealing with small groups of soldiers as they encounter each other and fight.

This is definitely a movie for someone who already knows something about the battle for Iwo Jima. For any people like that, the movie will be fascinating. The 2-disc version also includes specials such as a “making of” one, cast members talking about the people they portray, and a section of stills and other things.

The section about the cast members talking about their characters starts off with Clint Eastwood noting that the actors didn't know much of anything about Iwo Jima since it's not covered in the schools.

1 Even the casting associate says she had little knowledge of Iwo Jima.

2 The “real” General Kuribayashi.

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