"Letters From Iwo Jima"

Title: "Letters From Iwo Jima"
Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: C. Eastwood, R. Lorenz, and S. Spielberg
Editing: J. Cox and G.D. Roach
Composer: K. Eastwood and M. Stevens
Starring:
- Ken Watanabe as Army Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
- Kazunari Ninomiya as Army Private First Class Saigo
- Tsuyoshi Ihara as Army Lt. Colonel/Baron Takeichi Nishi
- Ryo Kase as Army Superior Private Shimizu

Plot and Critical Review: In 2005, Japanese archaeologists explore tunnels on Iwo Jima. They find something in the dirt. As they slowly dig up what seems to be an old bag, the scene changes to Iwo Jima in 1944 as Private First Class Saigo and his platoon are grudgingly digging beach trenches. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison and immediately begins an inspection of the island defenses. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating and orders the men to stop digging trenches on the beach and begin tunnelling defenses into Mount Suribachi.

Kuribayashi evacuates the civilian population of Iwo Jima to mainland Japan. He clashes with some of his senior officers, who do not agree with his strategy of defending inland instead of the beaches; Kuribayashi believes the Americans will take the beaches quickly, and only the mountain defenses will have a better chance for holding out against the enemy.

Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll on the garrison. The Japanese troops begin using the caves as barracks. A young soldier named Shimizu arrives for duty on the island. Saigo and his friends suspect that Shimizu is a spy sent from Kempeitai to report on disloyal soldiers since he was trained at a Kempeitai institute. The first American aerial bombings occur shortly after, causing significant casualties. The raid forces the Japanese to dig deeper into the volcanic island. A few days later, U.S. Marines land and the battle for Iwo Jima begins.

As the landings occur, the Americans suffer heavy casualties. Saigo assists the defense by carrying ammunition to machine gunners. When a Japanese machine gunner is killed, Saigo is sent to retrieve some machine guns instead. While delivering the request from his commander to the commander of the Suribachi garrison, Saigo overhears General Kuribayashi radioing orders to retreat northward. The Suribachi commander, however, ignores the General and orders Saigo to deliver a message ordering the men of his company to commit suicide. The Japanese soldiers of Saigo's unit commit suicide with grenades, including Saigo's friend Nozaki, and Captain Tanida shoots himself in the head, but Saigo runs away and leaves the cave with Shimizu, convincing him that it is more productive to continue the fight rather than die.

Saigo and the remaining Japanese soldiers in Mount Suribachi attempt to flee from the tunnels and caves under the cover of night. However, they run into U.S. Marines, who wipe out all the Japanese troops except for Saigo and Shimizu, who barely manage to meet up with another platoon.

The soldiers from the caves attempt a futile attack against American positions, with the Japanese taking heavy losses. Saigo and the surviving soldiers are told to regroup with Colonel Nishi. The next morning, heavy fighting takes place. The Japanese take casualties but manage to kill several U.S. Marines and destroy a tank. Lieutenant Okubo, Nishi's executive officer shoots a U.S. Marine, who is subsequently captured by Nishi's men. He reveals his name to be Sam, and Nishi orders his medic to give him aid despite dwindling medical supplies. Despite their efforts, the Marine dies of his wounds.

Being fed up with the battle, Saigo says to Shimizu that he will surrender to the Americans and does not care if Shimizu reports this to the Kempeitai. Shimizu divulges to Saigo that he had been dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai. This causes Saigo's attitude towards Shimizu to soften considerably. Shimizu asks Saigo to surrender with him. Shimizu and another soldier attempt to flee the cave where they are stationed. Okubo orders them to halt; when they fail to stop, he shoots the other soldier while Shimizu escapes.

Shimizu surrenders to a U.S. Marine patrol and finds himself in the company of another Japanese soldier who had surrendered. The patrol moves on, leaving Shimizu and the other Japanese soldier and two Marines. One of the American guards later shoots them both. The dead soldiers are discovered by the Japanese and Lieutenant Okubo points it out as a lesson for anyone else who wishes to surrender.

Saigo and the remaining survivors find that Kuribayashi's cave is under attack. They charge through the crossfire to defend their General. They enter the cave and meet up with Kuribayashi, who recognizes Saigo. One last attack with all the remaining men is planned. Kuribayashi orders Saigo to stay behind and destroy all the documents, including his own letters to his family. By this, Kuribayashi saves Saigo's life a third time. Kuribayashi and his remaining troops launch their final attack and most of Kuribayashi's men are killed. Kuribayashi is critically wounded.

Kuribayashi's aide drags him away from the battle. The next morning, Kuribayashi orders his aide to behead him; however, the aide is shot dead by an American sniper as he raises his sword. Saigo appears, having buried some of the documents in the cave instead of burning them all. Summoning his last reserves of strength, the very weak Kuribayashi asks Saigo to bury him so that nobody will find him. Kuribayashi then draws his pistol and shoots himself in the chest. Saigo carries away the dead general and buries his body at another location.

The scene shifts back to the Japanese archaeologists who uncover the bag of letters written by Japanese soldiers on the island that Saigo buried in 1945. As the letters fall from the bag, the voices of the fallen Japanese soldiers are heard reading from them.

Nominated for three Oscars and receiving only one (Best Sound Editing), "Letters..." did not earn the award-related fame many expected it to. It is, however, generally praised as being the greater of the two Iwo Jima films Eastwood directed - "Letters..." was produced as a companion to the 2006 film, "Flags of Our Fathers". "Letters..." was highly praised in Japan where the film grossed far more than it did in America.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Content to Caution:
V-4 - A significant amount of battle-related violence. Extreme gore associated with ritualistic suicide.
L-2 - Mild language.
DU-1 - Some drinking and smoking.
RT-1 - No comment.
H/S-3 - While there are no "shocks" or "scares", there are many moments of suspense related to the intensity of battle and person-to-person combat.
CH-1 - No comment.
S/N-0 - No comment.

The "Reel Revelation": "Are They Not The Same?"

Before leaving America to return to Japan, a farewell party is thrown for General Kuribayashi. At the party, the wife of an American officer asks Kuribayashi how he would feel if America and Japan went to war. She specifically asks Kuribayashi if he would try to kill her husband (who is sitting right next to her at the dinner table) if Japan and America were fighting against each other. Kuribayashi replies, "I'd have to follow my convictions." The American officer asks ,"Do you mean you'd have to follow your convictions, or your countries' convictions?" Kuribayashi simply replies, "Are they not the same?"

"Are they not the same?"

By the way he asks, it seems as if it had never occurred to him that what he should want and what the Empire of Japan should want were different. In watching this scene I was struck with a more personal version of the same question, "Is what I want the same as what God wants?" To rephrase, are my convictions and God's convictions one in the same? I suspect that question will challenge all of you the same way it challenged me.

Think of yourself as a soldier. You remain your own person with your own convictions and feelings, but you are bound by oath to follow the orders of your commanding officer. There's no wiggle room here; you will do as you're told or you'll be dismissed. What if you're given an order you don't agree with? We've all seen movies in which soldiers struggle with completing orders that conflict with their personal beliefs. Imagine yourself in that sort of moment; being ordered to do something that seems wrong to you. What would you do? Would you disobey the order and suffer the consequences? Would you carry out the order, even though you didn't agree with it? Or would you flee from responsibility altogether and abandon your oath of obedience?

Whatever decision you might make in that situation is your own, but I think the imagined scenario has a place of great importance as we encounter the unimagined challenges of following God's commands.

At first, i'd like to think that no Christian would ever say "God's commands are contrary to my convictions!" How could they be?! Doesn't God have the very best in mind for us at all times? Isn't he kind and gracious, leading us in the way of love? Yes! But then I remember who I am; a sinful, flawed, lustful, broken, small, inadequate, imperfect, rough, and confused human being. Thus, even my most base convictions are a reflection of who I am; selfish, greedy, prideful, and so on. I don't mean to be self-destructive, only honest as to the sort of man I am...because I am of the race of fallen men! No person can say differently.

Because the commands of God call us away from our selfish and human behavior, we will struggle against following them! Indeed, there will be moments when we feel like what God is asking (commanding!) of us is inherently wrong because of the temptation to settle for our basic desires. Those moments can be excruciating, but it's then that we must trust in God's promises alongside his commands for our lives. And while we are like soldiers in that we must obey our commander, the Lord Jesus, there is an element to the "army" of our faith that is very different from the way of life experienced by those who serve in the armed and civil services. Far above and beyond the responsibilities of duty, honor, and allegiance; we are bound to God by the power of love.

Do we follow God out of fear of what might happen if we should disobey Him? Do we represent Him as a harsh and cruel commander, one who is ever at the whip and striking at His soldiers? Or do we serve God because we love Him? Is it love that helps us look past our human shortcomings and embrace God's commands, even though they are challenging? I pray that we may forget our hesitations and choose to make God's convictions and commands our own, that what we want and what He wants may truly be one in the same. And may we do it out of love and for the sake of love, that all might see that our God is good and loves those who keep his Word.

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. ... ...If anyone loves me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words..." (John 14: 20-21, 23b-24a)

See you tomorrow - E.T.