Welcome to ‘The Wider Screen’ a series of endorsements of films in the international sphere of cinema. In the past, I have been guilty of ignoring the potential of non-English speaking cinema and as I experience more international films, I can pass them onto you. Oscar Winning Parasite director Bong Joon Ho stated “Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films” and in line with this notion, I hope I can do my bit to introduce you to some of the great international films that I have seen.
Now the first thing you should know about Letters from
Iwo Jima is that it is actually an American made film, but as it is
entirely in the Japanese language, I deem it eligible for ‘The Wider Screen’. Directed
by the legendary Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima is the companion
piece to Flags of our fathers (2007) documenting the infamous battle of
Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese army defending the volcanic island.
Roughly 100,000 Americans made up the invasion force awaited by the 20,000 Japanese
warriors waiting in the mountains to meet their fate. A battle that led to an
unbelievable amount of bloodshed and terror for both sides, Letters from Iwo
Jima humanises the ‘faceless’ Japanese heroes that fought valiantly against
a force ultimately too strong to overcome.
Using cinema to recreate the past is so important, mainly how it allows people to immerse themselves in a part of history that they may have never been aware of before the viewing. However, it always begs the question. How effectively can you present the past through film without distorting history itself. Historical films come in all forms, nonetheless a large contribution of historical films are actually based on Warfare. Wars have an instrumental effect on society and consequently give filmmakers an opportunity to produce something that people can culturally and emotionally relate to. Letters from Iwo Jima is one of the most authentic and thought-provoking films about war ever made.
With Hollywood’s gloss, war films
can sometimes be considered far-fetched, lacking integrity and just not real. Especially
when a director has little background knowledge about their film, how can they
accurately replicate something of the past? Well, this isn’t the case for Letters
from Iwo Jima. With one of the most legendary figures in cinema like Clint
Eastwood in charge, this part of history was always going to be treated with
the care and attention it deserved. It is clear that WWII and this battle in
particular means a great deal to Eastwood, a filmmaker whose quality is in the
passion he drives into every project.
Letters from Iwo Jima’s true
strength is the focus it places on the ‘little guy’ often the Japanese have been
portrayed as ruthless, organised killers, but Clint Eastwood shows their human
side within the devastation of war. Many are young, scared and unprepared for what
was to come, their officers are courageous but like their subordinates they are
forced to put on a brave face in spite of the doomed battle, a true appreciation
for the warrior spirit in the Japanese army.
Letters from Iwo Jima is one of those films that is intense all the way through, you become so attached to the naïve Japanese soldiers essentially sent to their deaths. A film running at 2 hours 21 minutes that doesn’t even feel like half of that. So many war films focus on the good guys and the bad guys, but Letters from Iwo Jima transcends that, it takes on the brutality of war and the destruction it brings on the winners just as much as the losers. A perfect example of a film in a foreign language that carries global messages. It touches you on an emotional level, regardless of your culture and upbringing.
A
perfect companion piece to the equally brilliant Flags of our fathers, a
film that stands out amongst the congested market of uninspired Hollywood war
films.
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