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Letters From Iwo Jima is the companion film to Flags Of Our Fathers: while the latter showed the American side of the Battle of Iwo Jima, the former shows the Japanese side of the same war. Seeing the type of films he's been making for almost a decade tells me he might very well become the Stephen E. Ambrose of Hollywood. I saw Flags a long time ago, and have forgotten much about it, so I won't be doing any comparing between the two. Letters is an impressive film, beautifully executed, has emotional depth, and a different perspective on the battle. The Japanese are portrayed as honest, respectful, sensitive and overall tough, or at least some of them. Their sense of honor and loyalty is impressively detailed here. Unlike most others, who put the war in front and the soldiers in the back, Letters does the opposite. Instead of playing on the theme on how soldiers affect the war, it plays on how the war affects the soldiers. The film gets increasingly violent, with blood and gore you normally wouldn't expect to show up, despite the fact it's a war film. By the time the film ends, you will have new found respect for all the brave soldiers portrayed in the film who stood and fought till their last breath, and (probably) sympathize with those who couldn't.
In the performances, Ken Watanabe was absolutely fearless in his role as General Kuribayashi. A dedicative, almost flawless performance. He was indeed the heart and soul of the movie, provided strong shoulders and bought deep characterization to his role. Simply put, he was perfect. All the rest of the cast were equally superior, had their moments, and bought appropriate understanding and connection to the viewer.
In conclusion, Letters From Iwo Jima is an authentic, superb war film that touches on many topics. It can be said as a modern war masterpiece, and one of the damn greatest war films of all time!
8.5/10
