Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
"Letters From Iwo Jima" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 04/15/2012
The story centres on Saigo, a young baker who is conscripted into defending the island of Iwo Jima as the last line of defence against the advancing American forces. The Japanese "forces" are shown as a dishevelled, barely equipped and starving rag tag collection of survivors huddled in underground caves, overwhelmed by the collective might of the US navy and suffering at the hands of fanatical commanding officers who are all too willing to commit "honourable" suicide. In a brave move, Clint Eastwood chooses to show the invasion of Japan from their perspective, and not only that but actually uses Japanese actors speaking in Japanese; the entire film is subtitled which I'm sure went down a treat in Hicksville, USA...This is a very human war story, centering far more on the beautifully …
Rating of
4/4
Letters from Iwo Jima review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 01/10/2012
The compassionate and strategic General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) takes command and inspects the island of Iwo Jima. Saigo, the teenage baker is exposed to the cruelty of war. The screenplay was wonderful with thought provoking lines: From mother of a dead American soldier’s letter named Sam and a Lt. Col. Nishi - “Do what is right because it is right.” “…but I don’t want to die for nothing.” Col. Adachi – “It's inevitable that people will die.” Gen. Kuribayashi – “A day will come when they will weep and pray for your souls. I will always be in front of you.” “If our children can live safely for one more day, it'll be worth one more day that we defend this island!”
The film definitely portrayed subjects on cowardice, courage, death, …
Rating of
3/4
Letters from Iwo Jima
Franz Patrick - wrote on 12/24/2007
It's nice to see a World War II film from the Japanese's perspective. There are a lot of elements working together here which made this film ferociously effective. Themes of bravery, honor, decisions, betrayals, and truths were consistent with its emotional tone. It's no wonder critics loved this film. I'm not really a big fan of war movies because, like this one, they last really long. Still, I'm not going to deny this movie's boldness and creativity. I did enjoy the battle scenes, which constantly reminded me of "Black Hawk Down." I felt like I was right there in the action. I know I was watching a war movie but I would flinch every time someone died. If one were to analyze this picture, one could see the relevance to the war that is happening in Iraq. The connection is not just the …
