I watched these two films on consecutive days, given the publicity which saw them as a pair of films rather than just separate works. Certainly watching them together was complimentary, but they are perfectly good stand alones as well. They also tell quite different stories, quite apart from the obvious difference of perspective.
Flags of our Fathers was the first one I watched. This is really a film of two parts - the account of the battle of Iwo Jima from the point of view of the men who were in the famous photo, and the account of how the propaganda efforts the US government did following the battle and the role the survivors had in that. The two tales are not told linerally, rather the battle itself is told though a series of flashbacks the men have as they go through their barnstorming tour.
Letters from Iwo Jima is, in contrast, focused entirely on the battle of Iwo Jima. It is therefore a battle film in a way that Flags of Our Fathers is not. The film starts some time before the battle, with the appointment of General Kuribayashi to lead the defence. The first portion of the film is therefore the build-up as the general struggles with unconvinced subordinates. He is one of two main characters - the other is of a (fictional) ordinary soldier. Then the battle begins and the film traces the desperate defence, and also shines a light into the very oppressive atmosphere in which the the Japanese soldiers laboured and fought, and the twisted codes which made so many commit suicide.
The film is in Japanese, which I am very grateful for. At times there are voiceovers, which are the letters being written home (hence the title). There are occasional flashbacks as the main characters look back on their past, but always the ugly reality reasserts itself.
There are some beautiful shots in both films of the invasion fleet, of the landings, and of the bombardment of Mt Suribachi - it shows you how far special effects have developed in the last ten years.
Some have expressed a modern political commentary in these films, especially in Flags of our Fathers. I am unconvinced by it, and think they are reading rather more than these films allow. These films do ask hard questions about heroism, what it is to be a hero, and more specifically what it is to be perceived as a hero by a nation at large. But they do not provide easy answers, just demonstrate a few examples through a few of the characters.
I must say I found Letters to be the better of the two films, but that might just be because I prefer straight battle films to the montage of Flags.
Verdict: Flag of our Fathers B / Letters from Iwo Jima B+
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