"Do what is right because it's right."

I finally saw Letters from Iwo Jima today. This film is, of course, a companion to Flags of Our Fathers, which I thought was a very good film, but not a great film.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a great film. The film tells the story of the battle for Iwo Jima, but tells it from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers. Almost completely in Japanese, the film poignantly reveals the "enemy," who like his American counterpart, wants nothing more than to get home to his family. Unlike the Americans, however, the Japanese soldiers know ahead of time that Iwo Jima will be their final resting place. And though they have been left without ammunition, reinforcements, food, and water, the soldiers try to keep their spirits up.


In telling its heartbreaking story, the film does not take sides. This is by no means an anti-American or a pro-Japanese film; it is a human film. The most powerful scene comes when the soldiers read a letter from an American mother to her son. In this touching scene, the soldiers realize that what they have been taught about the enemy is not true; instead, he is just like they are: young boys with mothers who miss them.

Ken Watanabe and Japanese pop singer Kazunari Ninomiya lead a strong cast, but director Clint Eastwood is the star here. Eastwood has created a moving and poetic powerhouse of beauty and devastation.

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So now I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees, and though there are still a few 2006 films that I want to see, I know I will not see them in the next few weeks. So I am just about ready for my Best Of list, which will be arriving on the blogstep in the next couple of days, followed closely by my Oscar picks. You may need to pick up some Ambien because with such events on your horizon you will not be able to sleep.