Letters from IWO JIMA
This isn't just the best film director Clint Eastwood has ever made, it's quite possibly the finest "foreign" movie he will EVER get a chance to make (add this to your MUST-SEE list)!
4 stars (out of 4) [(2006)USA/WB/Rated R] - (2 hrs. 23 min.)
[In Japanese (subtitled) w/ some English & 'Broken English' dialogue]
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Iris Yamashita
Source: based on "Picture Letters From Commander in Chief" by Tadamichi Kuribayashi, edited by Tsuyoko Yoshida
Lead characters/Cast
Lt. General Kuribayashi (new commander) - Ken Watanabe
Saigo (baker drafted into infantry) - Kazunari Ninomiya
Lt. Colonel Baron Nishi (Olympic horseman turned officer) - Tsuyoshi Ihara
Shimizu (ex-**Kempeitai/arrives 31 min. in) - Ryo Kase
Review:
I'm not going to say much about this film so as not to spoil it for first-time viewers, suffice it to say the deficiencies of the military expose in "Flags of our Fathers" are more than made up for in "Letters From Iwo Jima," director Clint Eastwood's Japanese viewpoint of WW2.
Nearly all-Asian cast delivers top-notch performances as Eastwood sympathetically portrays the plight of an enemy stuck following orders that will cost most of them their lives. Yes, you have to read subtitles if you're not fluent in Japanese, but it's well worth the added trouble, and will become less necessary after multiple viewings which a masterpiece of this caliber demands.
Check it out!
Supporting characters/Cast
Lieutenant Fujita (Kuribayashi's asst.) - Hiroshi Watanabe
Admiral Ohsugi (sent home 44 min. in) - Nobumasa Sakagami
Admiral Ichimaru (Osugi's replacement) - Masashi Nagadoi
Lieutenant Ito (Air Force cmdr./beheads deserters) - Shidou Nakamura
Sam (Captured U.S. marine) - Lucas Elliott
Hanako (Saigo's wife/Flashbacks only) - Nae
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**NOTES/terms:
Kempeitai: Japanese military police of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. Kempeitai also became the de facto police force of territory occupied by Japanese military. For this reason, many equate Kempeitai with the Gestapo of Nazi Germany (from Wikipedia-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempeitai)
Senninbari: a charm belt more commonly known in the west as the "Thousand Stitch Belt". As a part of the Zen culture of Imperial Japan, Japanese women created these senninbari for their men. These belts were believed to confer courage, good luck and immunity from injury(especially bullets) upon their wearers. (from Wikipedia-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senninbari)
Dysentery: Illness involving severe diarrhea that is often associated with blood in the feces. It is caused by ingestion of food containing microorganisms, causing a disease in which inflammation of the intestines affect the body significantly.(from Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysentery)
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MAIN crew:
Original Music by Kyle Eastwood & Michael Stevens
Panavision cinematography by Tom Stern
Editors: Joel Cox & Gary D. Roach
Production designers: Henry Bumstead & James J. Murakam
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A look at how authenticity gets weaved into films
Just the facts?
Daily Variety explores how the truth behind this year's crop of pics gets massaged into Hollywood's own brand of cinematic veracity!
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
FACTOMETER RATING: 7 (out of 10)
GENESIS:
While researching his Iwo Jima epic "Flags of Our Fathers," Eastwood had several Japanese texts translated into English. The one that impressed him most was "Picture Letters From Commander in Chief," a collection of correspondence from Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi to his family, filled with emotional sentiments and playful sketches -- not at all the picture of the leader Eastwood had imagined. The documents served as a jumping-off point for a second film about the battle told from the Japanese point of view.
LIBERTIES TAKEN:
Features two significant interactions between Japanese and American troops: In the first, a Japanese officer orders his men to treat a wounded American soldier. Later, a deserter surrenders to the Americans, who shoot the prisoner.
THE SPIN:
Unlike pics that paint Japan as the aggressor, "Letters" depicts a defensive battle. Once Iwo Jima fell, Americans would have a launching pad to attack Tokyo, and these soldiers (including the cowardly lead character) are fighting to protect their homeland. ["Just the Facts" - Courtesy of Variety]
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Cinephilia:
Picture (start-to-finish): 2 hrs. 18 min.
End credits: 5 min.
First kiss: none
First battle: 51 min. in (Air Attack)
Liquor consumed by Japanese: Johnnie Walker scotch
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MOVIE website-http://iwojimathemovie.warnerbros.com/lettersofiwojima/framework/framework.html
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Additional cast... Characters:
Yuki Matsuzaki ... Nozaki (dies from dysentery**)
Takashi Yamaguchi ... Kashiwara (soldier)
Ikuma Ando ... Ozawa
Takuji Kuramoto ... Ono
Koji Wada ... Hashimoto
Steve Santa Sekiyoshi ... Kanda
Toshi Toda ... Colonel Adachi (Infantry cmdr.)
Ken Kensei ... Maj. General Hayashi
Takumi Bando ... Captain Tanida
Eijiro Ozaki ... Lieutenant Okubo
Hiro Abe ... Lt. Colonel Oiso
Sonny Seiichi Saito ... Medic Endo
Toshiya Agata ... Captain Iwasaki
Yoshi Ishii ... Private Yamazaki
Mark Moses ... American Officer (USA flashback)
Roxanne Hart ... Officer's Wife (USA flashback)
Evan Ellingson ... Kid Marine
Hiroshi Tom Tanaka ... Hopeless Soldier
Mathew Botuchis ... American Marine
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