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Once A Villain · 01-09-2007, 10:57 AM

I just saw it last night at an advance screening before it expands to 30 screens (from the original 5) in the U.S. this Friday. Since huge movie releases have been known to hit over 4,000 screens, one can see how 30 is still a very limited number. However, it will expand again on the 19th.

Anyway, so I saw the advanced screening with about 7 World War II veterans in attendance. Before it began a radio talk show guy (the screening was a promotional thing done by a radio station) gave a pretty damn good speech about how war comes down to infantry, or the guys they like to call "grunts". These are the guys who do the most and pay the biggest price, often for the sins of their superiors or their country's leaders who rarely spill their own blood. And this is true for all sides in a war.

So this movie does not sympathize with the Imperial Japanese aggression of the period, nor does it nod in agreement with Japan's politics of the time. This film is simply about the regular fighting men who wanted to get home to their mothers, wives, and children. They just happen to be Japanese men instead of Americans. No American filmmaker, until now, has ever had the balls to make the Americans the "faceless enemy" in war movie.

Then again, Clint Eastwood already visited the other side of this story, the American side, in Flags of Our Fathers. Flags had some interesting things to say, and is worth seeing in my opinion, but Letters From Iwo Jima is a much better, more focused film. There are sequences in Letters that had the audience gasping. The woman next to me was a critic from a local publication of some sort (she took notes the entire time), and she was quite audible in her shock at several of the scenes. It must be said, there are some disturbing moments here, including a group suicide done in a rather messy fashion.

Developing characters is another thing this film does better than Flags. I cared for Saigo, the simple baker who left his wife behind and has never seen his baby girl. I admired Baron Nishi, the champion of a horse riding event in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, who showed compassion for a wounded American soldier. I felt sad for Shimizu, a young man who struggles between his desire to hate the Americans and his fear that he's fighting for nothing. And, of course, I respected General Kuribayashi, who was always against the war and had many American friends, but nonetheless did his very best to protect his homeland.

I feel that there was a terrific exchange at an American dinner party in the film, where Kuribayashi was the guest of honor. I personally don't think that it's much of a spoiler, but just in case...

Spoiler:
Wife of an American General: Mr. Kuribayashi, how would you feel if America and Japan were to enter war?

Kuribayashi: Together, we would be hard to defeat.

American General: No, I think my wife means, what if we were to enter war against each other.

Kuribayashi: Well, the United States is the last country in the world Japan should fight. But I suppose if that were to happen, I would have to serve my interests.

American General: Your interests? Or do you mean your country's interests?

Kuribayashi: Are they not the same thing?

American General: Spoken like a true soldier.

I loved that scene because it showed that, especially in an age with no worldwide web and a lot of Japanese propaganda and indoctrination, it's quite an easy thing to just be patriotic and do what one's leaders say is right. A soldier fights for the guy next to him, for a cause they believe in if only because they are told they should believe.

There are a few people who have seen this movie and believe that it lets the Japanese off lightly. I disagree. It doesn't put their war crimes under the microscope, that's true, and yes they committed some significant atrocities, particularly in China. That's just not what this film is about. How often do we look at war crimes on the American side? Not often enough because America was on the "good" side. This film does show what happens to any Japanese who thinks of disobeying an order (no matter how dumb it is) or tries to surrender. This film does indeed contain several scenes of brutality on the part of certain Japanese characters. It also portrays their overwhelming desire to die rather than be taken alive, even when that desire comes down to simply not wanting to be the one guy in the group who is too afraid to "pull the trigger".

In the end, I felt that this was one of the most poignant anti-war films I've seen in recent memory. It's lengthy, but never boring. It's subtitled, but never a chore to follow. I think it's the best film of 2006.

01-09-2007, 10:57 AM	#1
Once A Villain OUATIJ Creator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 1,640	Letters From Iwo Jima I just saw it last night at an advance screening before it expands to 30 screens (from the original 5) in the U.S. this Friday. Since huge movie releases have been known to hit over 4,000 screens, one can see how 30 is still a very limited number. However, it will expand again on the 19th. Anyway, so I saw the advanced screening with about 7 World War II veterans in attendance. Before it began a radio talk show guy (the screening was a promotional thing done by a radio station) gave a pretty damn good speech about how war comes down to infantry, or the guys they like to call "grunts". These are the guys who do the most and pay the biggest price, often for the sins of their superiors or their country's leaders who rarely spill their own blood. And this is true for all sides in a war. So this movie does not sympathize with the Imperial Japanese aggression of the period, nor does it nod in agreement with Japan's politics of the time. This film is simply about the regular fighting men who wanted to get home to their mothers, wives, and children. They just happen to be Japanese men instead of Americans. No American filmmaker, until now, has ever had the balls to make the Americans the "faceless enemy" in war movie. Then again, Clint Eastwood already visited the other side of this story, the American side, in Flags of Our Fathers. Flags had some interesting things to say, and is worth seeing in my opinion, but Letters From Iwo Jima is a much better, more focused film. There are sequences in Letters that had the audience gasping. The woman next to me was a critic from a local publication of some sort (she took notes the entire time), and she was quite audible in her shock at several of the scenes. It must be said, there are some disturbing moments here, including a group suicide done in a rather messy fashion. Developing characters is another thing this film does better than Flags. I cared for Saigo, the simple baker who left his wife behind and has never seen his baby girl. I admired Baron Nishi, the champion of a horse riding event in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, who showed compassion for a wounded American soldier. I felt sad for Shimizu, a young man who struggles between his desire to hate the Americans and his fear that he's fighting for nothing. And, of course, I respected General Kuribayashi, who was always against the war and had many American friends, but nonetheless did his very best to protect his homeland. I feel that there was a terrific exchange at an American dinner party in the film, where Kuribayashi was the guest of honor. I personally don't think that it's much of a spoiler, but just in case... Spoiler: Wife of an American General: Mr. Kuribayashi, how would you feel if America and Japan were to enter war? Kuribayashi: Together, we would be hard to defeat. American General: No, I think my wife means, what if we were to enter war against each other. Kuribayashi: Well, the United States is the last country in the world Japan should fight. But I suppose if that were to happen, I would have to serve my interests. American General: Your interests? Or do you mean your country's interests? Kuribayashi: Are they not the same thing? American General: Spoken like a true soldier. I loved that scene because it showed that, especially in an age with no worldwide web and a lot of Japanese propaganda and indoctrination, it's quite an easy thing to just be patriotic and do what one's leaders say is right. A soldier fights for the guy next to him, for a cause they believe in if only because they are told they should believe. There are a few people who have seen this movie and believe that it lets the Japanese off lightly. I disagree. It doesn't put their war crimes under the microscope, that's true, and yes they committed some significant atrocities, particularly in China. That's just not what this film is about. How often do we look at war crimes on the American side? Not often enough because America was on the "good" side. This film does show what happens to any Japanese who thinks of disobeying an order (no matter how dumb it is) or tries to surrender. This film does indeed contain several scenes of brutality on the part of certain Japanese characters. It also portrays their overwhelming desire to die rather than be taken alive, even when that desire comes down to simply not wanting to be the one guy in the group who is too afraid to "pull the trigger". In the end, I felt that this was one of the most poignant anti-war films I've seen in recent memory. It's lengthy, but never boring. It's subtitled, but never a chore to follow. I think it's the best film of 2006. __________________ Ben Co-Founder Abborado Studios Lead Designer - Once Upon a Time in Japan: Earth Last edited by Once A Villain; 01-09-2007 at 11:10 AM.