With Letters from Iwo Jima Eastwood Makes Heroes Out of Men

Clint Eastwood completes his chronicle of an epic battle in "Letters From Iwo Jima," a tale told from the Japanese perspective of the monumental battle of Iwo Jima during the Second World War.

While the story does explain in short the importance of the island and the losses that the Japanese suffered during World War II, it mainly focuses on the battle for the island. Iwo Jima was an important road to taking control of Japan. Its importance came from the fact that it was a strategic base for America to bomb the cities of Japan until they became nothing but rubble. In the end the price of the battle was incredibly high for both sides, and with little dramatic license, Eastwood has crafted a tale of war that is at once hard to stop watching.

Many historical films do take dramatic license, filling in the gaps of the story, but World War II was one of the better documented wars in history. The majority of the events were taken from actual letters written by Japanese soldiers.

However, no one has tried to tell the Japanese story at length during the battle of Iwo Jima.The story focuses on the Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi and an imperial soldier named Saigo.Tadamichi is played by Ken Watanabe, who was noteworthy in his role as a samurai in "The Last Samurai." Both roles are of men in situations that are trying, and with little chance of surviving.

Watanabe brings a host of talents to the film, playing the role of commander well.He knows the situation is bleak from the beginning, but when he finds out the defeat of the combined fleet of Japan, he is certain he is fighting a losing battle.

The imperial soldier Saigo is played by Kazunari Ninomiya, who is a classic character in many ways. He doesn't submit to the idea that he should die an honorable death. He follows orders, but knows the fighting is futile. In the end, he does fight, and builds the willingness to die for his commander.

"Letters from Iwo Jima" is in many ways satisfying. With a budget much smaller than "Flags of our Fathers," at $15 million ("Flags of our Fathers" was $55 million) it still has incredible action scenes and cinematography.

The characters remind viewers of other bitter, but hopeless efforts highlighted in movies like "The Alamo" and "Glory." Further, even those who know their history will find some interesting historical facts in the film. It is hard to make a hero out of the enemy, but it was done in "Letters from Iwo Jima."