Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima is the second part companion piece in the Battle of Iwo Jima recount by Clint Eastwood following Flags of Our Fathers. And this is a pure Japanese work directed by the veteran director with a script by Iris Yamashita. Had you not know who helmed the direction, you would have easily believed this feature as a Japanese film put together by a Japanese filmmaker. There's not an ounce of Western influence here in terms of filmmaking style and storytelling flare.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterpiece if compared to Flags of Our Fathers. It has a genuine heart peeking through an honest screenplay. Unlike the first picture, the perspective here is clear. We follow Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker who's forced to leave his pregnant wife to join the war. Parallelly we have the newly assigned General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) to lead the battle with all sorts of limitations you could imagine an army troop would have. And how they stretch out their survival to delay their meeting with death forms the crux of this sad story narrated on a lone island.

The war scenario is tense, brutal and merciless! The Japanese soldiers are severely disadvantaged, and we are constantly reminded of that fact. While our protagonist is trying to stay alive, he is heavily contrasted with those who operate on Kamikaze spirit. Grenade suicide, puppy-shooting, shit pot and the preparation for warfare are some of the most astounding scenes you'll see on screen! Lieutenant Takeichi Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara) choosing to treat an enemy and the General saving Saigo in threes are sequences that demonstrate humanity in midst of this ugly part of history.

Handheld camerawork is clumsy sometimes, suggesting the project could have been shot back-to-back in rush. Regardless, certain war spectacles are breathtaking! The washed-out color scheme is nice, and one must absolutely mention the recurring divine background theme music!