A good solid WWII movie, this time from the Japanese perspective.
As expected the spoken language is Japanese, so you'll be dealing with subtitles but I must confess, I much prefer subtitles to dubbing any day. The movie is engaging enough that...
- 21.January.2011
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- by: chrissnave
- chrissnave rated this movie
 0/10
A good solid WWII movie, this time from the Japanese perspective.
As expected the spoken language is Japanese, so you'll be dealing with subtitles but I must confess, I much prefer subtitles to dubbing any day. The movie is engaging enough that you'll soon forget you're reading subtitles anyway.
Eastwood did a fantastic job directing this compelling tail. A fascinating & long overdue alternate view of this war.
- 21.January.2011
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- by: chrissnave
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I wasn't sure how to feel about this film, one that, much like the German film Das Boot, attempts to put a human face on the "bad guys" of WWII. Unlike Das Boot, however, which I was never a fan of, Letters isn't deathly boring. Quite the contrary,...
- 22.March.2009
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- by: coolerking
- coolerking rated this movie
 8/10Great
I wasn't sure how to feel about this film, one that, much like the German film Das Boot, attempts to put a human face on the "bad guys" of WWII. Unlike Das Boot, however, which I was never a fan of, Letters isn't deathly boring. Quite the contrary, in fact it was so captivating, I nearly found myself rooting for the Japanese to somehow triumph in this hopeless situation on Iwo Jima. Is this wrong? It certainly feels wrong, given the atrocities, none of which were addressed here, committed by the Japanese military against their enemies throughout the war. (But then, I suppose we evened the score quite a bit with Hiroshima and Nagasaki.) I noticed that while the Americans weren't portrayed as evil in the film, they weren't always portrayed favorably either. I guess that's why Eastwood also made the American-centric Flags of our Fathers as a companion piece to Letters - to avoid looking unpatriotic. But none of that really matters as this film wasn't really about the good guys vs. the bad guys or even about patriotism, it was just about one group of people trying to survive. One person in particular - Saigo, the former baker/reluctant foot soldier - was of interest to me. Saigo doesn't want to hurt anybody or obtain any glory, he just wants to stay alive long enough to meet his child. His story is the most important message to take away from this movie, for in any war, on either side, there are literally thousands of Saigos, i.e. decent human beings who are willing to serve their country, no matter how corrupt or misguided that country's government might be, in any way they can, but who are mostly just concerned with getting back home in one piece.
- 22.March.2009
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- by: coolerking
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Cinematography-wise, this film is a knockout. It is also a daring choice: an American-made film about WWII, told from the Japanese perspective. It has moments of extreme hightened emotion and drama that make the rest of the film worthwhile....
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sethdellinger
- sethdellinger rated this movie0/10
Cinematography-wise, this film is a knockout. It is also a daring choice: an American-made film about WWII, told from the Japanese perspective. It has moments of extreme hightened emotion and drama that make the rest of the film worthwhile. Honestly, the bulk of the film is a bit dull, with long stretches of dialogue where, if you're not a WWII buff, you might not be able to follow it. But if you wade through and stick with it, you'll be greatly rewarded. The beach-storming scene is an eye-opener; after having seen it depeicted a few times from the American point-of-view, it was truly amazing to see a depiction of it from the other side. Certainly worth a watch, but it's by no means popcorn munching fare.
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sethdellinger
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"Letters from Iwo Jima" is a well-made film on all counts, but at nearly 2-1/2 hours, it's a little dull. The director is at pains to balance everything -- a depiction of brutality on the part of the Japanese soldiers is matched with a...
- 19.March.2009
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- by: Vic
- Vic rated this movie6/10Okay
"Letters from Iwo Jima" is a well-made film on all counts, but at nearly 2-1/2 hours, it's a little dull. The director is at pains to balance everything -- a depiction of brutality on the part of the Japanese soldiers is matched with a near-identical scene from the American camp; Japanese nobility is paired with American, etc. And the ending, in which there's an act of futile resistance yet still survival, seems a compromise. One can't fault this film's powerful anti-war feel, but for a stronger cinematic experience on the same theme, along with other correspondences to this film, check out the Japanese 1969 classic, "Fires on the Plain"; it covers the same ground with a fleeter foot. There are no DVD Extras on "Letters."
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