Letters from Iwo Jima
Since I'm co-hosting a TCOM video conference with Iris Yamashita in April, I decided I better check out Letters from Iwo Jima before it left the art theater in Indy.
All I have to say is...wow. It's a fantasic film in my opinion. Quite possibly one of the best anti-war films since All's Quiet on the Western Front.
The Jean Renoir idea that "everyone has their story, everyone has their reasons" is at the very core of my humanistic beliefs. I think Letters from Iwo Jima showcased this idea perfectly. In war, there are no right or wrong answers. Sure people like Hitler need to be stopped, but no one really thinks about the individual soldiers in any given war.
Letters showcases the fact that many Japanese soldiers were just average men. They didn't want to be there in the first place, they were scared, and they most certainly didn't want to die. The film doesn't try to make America the "bad guy." Instead, it points out the absurdisty of war--no matter which side someone fights on. Japan had its reasons, so did America.
The film could have easily depicted yet another good vs evil war story, but instead Letters lends a purely human and realistic quality to a purely human piece of history. Well done Clint Eastwood and company.
I am so excited about this video confrence now!
All I have to say is...wow. It's a fantasic film in my opinion. Quite possibly one of the best anti-war films since All's Quiet on the Western Front.
The Jean Renoir idea that "everyone has their story, everyone has their reasons" is at the very core of my humanistic beliefs. I think Letters from Iwo Jima showcased this idea perfectly. In war, there are no right or wrong answers. Sure people like Hitler need to be stopped, but no one really thinks about the individual soldiers in any given war.
Letters showcases the fact that many Japanese soldiers were just average men. They didn't want to be there in the first place, they were scared, and they most certainly didn't want to die. The film doesn't try to make America the "bad guy." Instead, it points out the absurdisty of war--no matter which side someone fights on. Japan had its reasons, so did America.
The film could have easily depicted yet another good vs evil war story, but instead Letters lends a purely human and realistic quality to a purely human piece of history. Well done Clint Eastwood and company.
I am so excited about this video confrence now!