Every jackass thinks he knows what war is.
So says the gruff voice of Harve Presnell at the beginning of Flags of Our Fathers, the first of Clint Eastwood's diptych of films about the battle for control of the volcanic island of Iwo Jima in early 1945. This one focuses its attention on the men in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima," in particular the three who survived the fighting and were sent home to shill for U.S. war bonds at a time when the money was desperately needed.
Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach star as the Navy Corpsman and two Marines who find their sudden celebrity discomforting, especially since the various functions and re-enactments they're shuttled between invariably send their minds back to Iwo Jima and to the men in their companies who weren't as fortunate. Other familiar faces who pop up in supporting roles include Jamie Bell as the naïve, ill-fated Iggy, Robert Patrick as a colonel, Melanie Lynsky as Bradford's eager fiancée, David Patrick Kelly as President Truman, Jon Polito as the borough president who introduces the trio in Times Square and David Rasche as a senator.
I would say more about the film, but I get the feeling the whole story won't be in place until Letters from Iwo Jima opens in February. In the meantime, this story of what it means to be a hero -- and what it means to be called a hero -- will continue to resonate in my mind.