Likewise, Ninomiya is a young revelation and evolves the soft naivety of a boy into the hardened outlook of a wise man. He even sells his character's distaste for the war itself while making it clear how much honor and loyalty meant to a Japanese soldier in World War II.
Watanabe is at his best, turning in a quiet and reflective performance that exudes honor and respectability. Not only is the acting superb, the script is both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. For my own part, I reached the end of the film with only one complaint - I wished it was even longer (the runtime is already a healthy 2 hours and 21 minutes). While 'Flags of Our Fathers' received a mildly mixed reception (earning a 73% "fresh" Rotten Tomatoes rating), 'Letters from Iwo Jima' earned almost consistent praise from critics (as evidenced by its 91% "fresh" RT rating). As such, it stands out as a quiet but powerful reminder that humanity perseveres even in the face of insurmountable obstacles.
It doesn't examine heroism or military brotherhood, but rather, how a group of soldiers suffer the knowledge that they will never see their families again. At the bottom of the ranks, a young soldier named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) watches inner-conflict tear away at the general and his officers as they prepare for the coming battle.īy focusing on the psychological effects caused by another nation's war machine, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' isn't what we've come to expect from a war film. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) is assigned the impossible task of repelling an unrelenting military force with only a handful of men.
The story focuses on a small group of Japanese soldiers who tried desperately to hold the island of Iwo Jima from the advancing American army. By all accounts, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was supposed to be a side project - a companion piece helmed by Clint Eastwood to compliment the backstory of his ' Flags of Our Fathers.' But once audiences were exposed to it, the film quickly became more, earning stronger critical notices than 'Flags,' and even earning a pair of Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.
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