Check Out the Trailer

Earlier in the year, director Clint Eastwood chronicled the Battle of Iwo Jima from the U.S. point of view and how its heroes were used to support the war in FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. Now comes the companion piece to that film — this time from the point of view of the Japanese. Much like ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT that is from the point of view of “the enemy,” this film humanizes the men fighting on both sides, making the strong point that wars happen and good men die and what’s the point?

General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, THE LAST SAMURAI) is assigned to defend the island of Iwo Jima from an impending American invasion. To his scared soldiers, he makes the call that if they lose then others will have to fight the Americans on homeland Japan. We fight them over there so that we don’t have to fight them here — sounds familiar doesn’t it? The General is a good-humored man, who is fair to his soldiers. However, as he begins to prepare for the battle, he knows that he has been assigned a suicide mission. There are not enough troops, there will be no air or naval support and they supplies are low. The Japanese can’t just give the island to the Americans, but they are certain to lose nonetheless. One of those “nameless” soldiers being sent off to be slaughtered is young Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya, Japanese pop star), who has been drafted into service, leaving behind his pregnant wife Hanako (Nae, ULTRAMAN).

We get a sense of the Japanese code of honor in a scene between General Kuribayashi and his friend Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara, GAMERA), who is an Olympic equestrian champion. These two men have actually met Americans and their opinions of the Americans are far kinder than the other Japanese commanders. The story contrasts the drafted man and the military academy grad between Saigo and Shimizu (Ryo Kase, NOBODY KNOWS). In Lt. Ito (Shido Nakamura, JET LI’S FEARLESS), we find the soldier totally willing to give his life for his country and unsympathetic toward those who may have doubts. His story concludes with a great deal of irony.

Part of the conflict within the ranks of the Japanese soldiers arises from General Kuribayashi’s unorthodox methods, which from the point of view of the traditional Japanese approach to battle seem cowardly. This code of honor really comes to light in a scene when the trapped Japanese soldiers are commanded by the ranking officer to blow themselves up with grenades when General Kuribayashi has actually ordered the soldiers to fall back. Eastwood tackles many issues including a soldier’s honor, cowardly acts vs. survival, why fight a battle you know you will lose and the reality vs. myth of the enemy.

Eastwood uses the same desaturated color palette as the battle scenes in FLAGS, which adds a very somber tone to the impending battle. When we see the American flag raised on the hill in this film, we get a far different feeling. As we get to know the characters and fear their potential deaths, the sense of pointlessness and loss of potential grows and grows. Watanabe is captivating as a soldier who knows he must lead his men into a suicide mission. He will do his duty, but he will fight in a way that will not make it easy for the Americans. For a pop star, Kazunari Ninomiya is a remarkable actor. He is the heart of the film and gives use the best look into a soldier’s struggle between keeping their honor and trying to keep their lives.

War is complex. As it has been said, each war is different and each one is the same. Many parallels can be drawn to the current war in Iraq. This film reminds us that there are always human beings on both sides of any conflict even if the commanders who run the war off the battlefield try to tell us otherwise.