Letters from Iwo Jima

In the second of Eastwood's films about the battle for Iwo Jima (shot in Japanese), a linear narrative reveals the fear, suffering and conflicting emotions engendered by Japan's Imperial edict of 'death before surrender'.

Only Eastwood, probably, could or would have decided to present the battle for Iwo Jima from both (equally painful) perspectives. In this second film (shot in Japanese), a linear narrative reveals the fear, suffering and conflicting emotions engendered by Japan's Imperial edict of 'death before surrender'; the dark images, set largely in the hellish subterranean caves and tunnels dug by the Japanese forces, are the stuff of nightmare. A film of magisterial clarity and control.

Directed by:

Clint Eastwood

Cast:

Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya

Country:

USA

Year:

2006

Running time:

141min

Certificate:

15