The war exists outside of these characters' hearts and minds, not only physically but emotionally. Perhaps because of Yamashita's contributions to the story and script, Eastwood seems more focused, and more sensitive here than he did in Flags, which unfortunately must be compared since they are essentially companion pieces and opposite sides of the same story. Instead, Eastwood and screenwriters Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis demonstrate how similar the Japanese soldiers are to the Americans in Flags - not animalistic killing machines, but simple men enlisted, often against their will, to serve their country in the name of hollow, forced patriotism. Much like Ryan's superior 1998 counterpart, The Thin Red Line, Letters fails to vilify the main characters' opponents, which in this case would be ourselves. Going as far back as Kubrick's 1957 film Paths of Glory, the most appealing war films to this critic were those that took a more ambiguous approach to documenting the "war effort." As inspiring as fictional and true-life tales of patriotism like Saving Private Ryan are, there's something infinitely more immediate and personal about a tale that questions rather than champions man's inhumanity to man. But as Kuribayashi and his soldiers face the seemingly inevitable outcome of the battle, the men begin to realize that there may indeed be more important virtues to cherish than honor - particularly if it comes at the expense of their very lives, with little or no effect on anything except the futures of their friends and loved ones. Faced with overwhelming odds as the Americans land on Iwo Jima, the dwindling Japanese forces condense and consolidate in an effort to defend the land. But Kuribayashi himself needs little encouragement, and in fact knows American strategy far better than his fellow officers. Among his officers is Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), an Olympic equestrian enlisted to boost the morale of the soldiers. He pulls back beach forces in lieu of cave and trench warfare that catch the enemy off guard. The disparity in numbers is significant - 22,000 Japanese against 100,000 Americans - but Kuribayashi is largely unaware of the exact odds, and formidable enough a strategist to offset potential weaknesses in the Japanese front lines. Ken Watanabe ( Memoirs of a Geisha) plays General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, commander of the forces assigned the responsibility of defending Iwo Jima from invading American soldiers. Bumped up for Oscar consideration (which evidently proved effective), Eastwood's second film about Iwo Jima is an insightful portrait of wartime patriotism, intelligence and nobility, and one that proves ever more timely in days when real-world political turmoil provides an immediate backdrop with which to connect its themes and messages to modern audiences. Indeed, the film feels fresh in all the ways Flags felt stale, and easily ranks as the better of the two films - if not one of the best war movies of all time. The most significant byproduct of Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers may ultimately be that it inspired the actor-director to make Letters from Iwo Jima.
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