Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers (WGA):

Iris Yamashita (screenplay)
Iris Yamashita (story) ...

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Tagline:

From the director of "Flags of our Fathers" comes the completion of the Iwo Jima saga

Plot:

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Island | Japanese Army | Battle | Invasion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 16 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Ken Watanabe	...	General Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya	...	Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara	...	Baron Nishi
Ryo Kase	...	Shimizu
Shido Nakamura	...	Lieutenant Ito (as Shidou Nakamura)
Hiroshi Watanabe	...	Lieutenant Fujita
Takumi Bando	...	Captain Tanida
Yuki Matsuzaki	...	Nozaki
Takashi Yamaguchi	...	Kashiwara
Eijiro Ozaki	...	Lieutenant Okubo
Nae	...	Hanako
Nobumasa Sakagami	...	Admiral Ohsugi
Luke Eberl	...	Sam (as Lucas Elliot)
Sonny Saito	...	Medic Endo (as Sonny Seiichi Saito)
Steve Santa Sekiyoshi	...	Kanda

Also Known As:

Red Sun, Black Sand (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic war violence.

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (original rating) | Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Norway:15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:14 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:MA | USA:R (certificate #43136) | Argentina:16 | Sweden:15 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/16 (Qualidade) | Spain:13 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:18SG (DVD) | Peru:14 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Denmark:15 | South Africa:16 | Netherlands:16 | France:U (with warning)

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The last foreign language film to date to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (Japanese).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The world map seen in the Japanese command center on Iwo Jima does not demarcate the then British colony of Newfoundland, including it a part of Canada instead. Newfoundland did not join Canada until 1949.

Quotes:

Shimizu: I don't know anything about the enemy. I thought all Americans were cowards. I was taught they were savages.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-08-22)" (2008)

Oscar Alert 2006: ''Letters From Iwo Jima''

I might be home right now, but I still feel like I'm in the movie theater. I still hear the explosions. I still hear the undeniably confusing Japanese language. I still hear the sounds of agony that war brings. That is just how powerful ''Letters From Iwo Jima'' can be.

In October, Clint Eastwood launched the hyped ''Flags of our Fathers'', that was said to be the champion of the year. However, the movie was a huge disappointment, proving to be a clichéd war drama that added nothing new to the genre. I was very sad with Eastwood, I have to admit. However, the man had one more card up his sleeve.

''Letters From Iwo Jima'' is pure art-house war drama, a massive monster of a movie that differs from everything Eastwood has ever made. It ranks with ''The Unforgiven'' as Eastwood's best movie.

The story is basically the Japanese point of view of ''Flags of our Fathers''. While the latter had many scenes showing the glory of Americans, veterans returning home being greeted as heroes, and a tone of victory all over, ''Jima'' proves to be completely different. There is no glory for the Japanese, only pain. Veterans aren't greeted as heroes because they don't return home. There is no tone of victory, but a huge cloud of defeat. ''Jima'' is dark, resembling a black-and-white film, and it is one of the saddest movies of the year.

Ken Watanabe shines as general Tadamishi Kuribayachi (or something similar). He shows why he's one of the most talented Japanese actors around and proves he deserves another Oscar nomination. Kazunari Ninomiya deserves a lot of praise as well. His composition of Saigo, the baker turned soldier, is achingly true: a frightened, anxious man, but one full of hope and with one dream: to come back home to see his daughter.

Eastwood's direction is also worthy of immense recognition. It is tough for me to say this but, if there was one man capable of taking the Best Director Oscar out of Scorsese's hands, it would be Eastwood again. Not saying ''Jima'' is better than ''The Departed'' (Scorsese's film is superior, but not by much). But Eastwood is so talented and gifted that it would be foolish not to nominate him for this picture. It is a quiet movie, one that tells a tale within another story, and one that will be kept in your mind for ages. Eastwood does ''Tora!Tora!Tora!'' all over again. But while he proved to be weak on one part, he also proved to be perfect in another.

''Jima'' is probably the best war movie of the 21th century. Eastwood has created a piece of work that will remain untouchable and will survive through the decades. An art-house masterpiece, ''Jima'' only comes to prove what many already know: 2006 was a grand year for movie making.----10/10