Letter's From Iwo Jima
Beth, Kevin, Andrea, and I are watching Letter’s from Iwo Jima. I think it Beth made the comment, “I know I shouldn’t be cheering for them (the Japanese), they are shooting at American soldiers, I know they are going to lose, but at the same time I can’t help but want them to live.”
That sums up my feelings on the movie. I know the soldiers are not going to win. I watched them torture and kill American soldiers Then at the same time you see them writing letters home, bonding with friends, and you watch as they realize that they are not going to make it off the island alive. It is a hard movie to watch but at the same time I am glad I am watching it.
It is interesting to be watching the movie with Andrea, Beth, and Kevin because I am able to see the movie through their point of view. I have studied Japanese history and I understand the mindset of the Japanese soldiers when they are fighting to the death or committing suicide. I understand (or at least I think I do) why they are doing that. Every now and then Beth or Andrea will let a comment slip about how they are having a hard time understanding why the Japanese soldiers are doing certain things and I am always thankful I have my history classes to fall back on.
We have been watching the movie for two weeks now and I think we only have an hour or so left in it. So far, I think the movie is amazing. The acting is wonderful, I am understanding some of the Japanese, and story is moving.
I know that Clint Eastwood did both Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima but the two movies are so different. Flags of our Fathers shows the story by jumping around and flashing back, forward, and then flashback within a flashback. The movie also was about life once the three soldiers returned from the battle and not just the battle. I loved that about Flags of our Fathers.
Then in Letters from Iwo Jima he shows the movie from the beginning to the end. He uses some of the same footage that was shown in Flags of our Fathers but this time it is from the Japanese prospective. He shows the traditional Japanese soldier who would kill himself to honor the country and the other soldiers who want to go home to their family. He shows the traditional military men who want to follow the normal battle plans and then the man who thinks a bit outside of the box.
For those of you who don’t know Letters from Iwo Jima is in Japanese and the actors are all famous in Japan. If fact, Saigo is from a J-Pop group called Arashi who all of the girls love here.
I am looking forward to seeing how the movie ends.