Where Flags of our Fathers dealt with the public relations story behind Iwo Jima, Letters is more closely focussed on the battle itself, and leaves the island only in a few brief flashbacks. Returning to the pivotal second world war battle, this time from a Japanese perspective, Eastwood has fashioned a quietly powerful indictment of the war's wanton waste, and anchored it with a fearsome performance from Ken Wanatabe. Regular readers will probably find the second statement the more surprising of the two.This is the second of Clint Eastwood's double bill of films about Iwo Jima, although the tone and colour palette is so similar to last year's Flags Of Our Fathers that it could easily be the second half of the same movie.
So two things we've learned this week: a Japanese subtitled anti-war movie is a must-see, and my column is as good as film-reviewing gets in this country. If any one does want to, then please send me a cheque first, for suggesting it. I think it's about time some British film-makers picked up the baton and started making similar films dealing with the war from a British or German perspective, whether it's DDay, Normandy or the struggle on the Eastern Front. Ken Watanabe (the bad guy from Batman Begins) superbly plays General Tadamichi Kuribayashi - a real general whose genuine letters home to his family are read out during one war film where you won't be cheering when the "bad guys" get vanquished. And you know what? Most of the Japanese soldiers are just like any soldiers - ordinary men, wishing they were safe at home, being used as pawns in their callous leaders' plans.Īs a film, it's much better, more complex and far braver than Flags Of Our Fathers because it doesn't just mourn the victorious side's losses, it mourns the losses of the enemy' side who lost. Here, we get to see the battle from the Japanese side. That director is Clint Eastwood and Letters From Iwo Jima is his second film (following on from Flags Of Our Fathers) about the bloody 1945 battle between the Japanese and American armies for control of an island speck in the Pacific. And it's the best film that's come along so far this year (sorry, Simon). Oh, and it casts the Japanese army during World War Two in a sympathetic light. So when one Richard Bacon says that Letters From Iwo Jima is a film you should go and see, you should sit up and listen (or, more accurately, sit up and keep reading.)Īlthough, admittedly, I'm not the first person to see it and like it - it's up for the Best Picture Oscar.Īnd that's not bad going for a subtitled film in Japanese, directed by a 72-year-old man who doesn't even speak a word of the language. You summed up the thoughts of the entire nation. And even though Simon didn't say it in so many words, I think he also made it clear-ish that he sees me as this country's most important film reviewer and respects my work far more than posh critics. Nothing, I tell you.").Īnyway, during the interview, acclaimed movie star Simon said my Bacon Rashers are a "far more prestigious" ratings system than the "bottles and bulldogs" used by some downmarket newspapers. I had Simon Pegg on my XFM show - he's the star of Hot Fuzz (reviewed last week, four Bacon Rashers, sample line from my review: "Without me, they'd be nothing. BEFORE I get down to this week's main review, let me tell you just how prestigious this column is.
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