1495, Japan is collapsing under US attacks. Their navy has been defeated at the Mariana Islands and now the last line of defense before invasion of the main land line is Iwo Jima, a black volcanic isle in the middle of nowhere. 20000 men are there preparing for the battle. They know they are in huge disadvantage and they’re going to die under US sheer power, but no matter what, they will fight to delay invasion as much as they can. To improve their resistance, they hide in tunnels they caved under Mount Suribachi, desperately trying to find a meaning in all of that, most of them taking off their lives hugging bomb, under cultural pressure.

In this movie Clint Eastwood removed all of the colors. Images are so bare they’re almost black and white, like old pictures found in a forgotten box. But in war there’s no such thing as simple black and white. War is a mix of grays and enemies can be good as much as comrades can be bad. In war both parties feel as if they were standing up against evil, and of course the most perceived evilness is when the strongest party is trying to crush the one that’s losing the battle. And in war the other party is faceless, but as soon as we have opportunity to establish communication we find they have emotions too, and moms, just like we do!
All the movie soundtrack is in Japanese. In Italy we dub every movie, but this one wasn’t and I’m glad they left it alone. The sound of Japanese orders is well worth the trouble to read subtitles. I discovered this movie is the companion of Flags of Our Fathers which is the same story as seen from the American point of view, but unfortunately I missed it. I think the idea to make two war movies from the opposite points of view is great. This is the one true way to show war as it is. Anyhow, having watched just this one I can say it stands on its own and even alone it is a masterpiece.

Letters from Iwo Jima
USA 2006, by Clint Eastwood, War Drama
IMDB 498380