Letters From Iwo Jima

Went to Xingnan Pri Sch opposite NTU to meet my coursemates as we were supposed to conduct a survey for our tech comm project there. However, due to some communication problems between the admin clerk and the principal in the primary school, we were rejected to conduct the survey there even though the clerk had told us to come to the school.

We then headed back to NTU to find our tech comm professor who was not in her office. Sent an email requesting her to forward an email to the primary school so that we can conduct the survey.

We then headed to Orchard Cineleisure to watch Letters from Iwo Jima. It is without a doubt one of the best war films i have ever seen. Flags of our Fathers is the American twin while Letters from Iwo Jima is shot from the Japanese perspective. This Japanese film is definitely superior in terms of emotional resonance and storytelling. A fantastic achievement for Clint Eastwood for helming this entirely Japanese film and making it as authentic as possible in terms of their culture and the history.

World War II, 1945. United States invaded the Japanese island of Iwo Jima so that they can use the small island as a base to attack the main island of Japan. The Japanese who were assigned to defend the small island were cut off from reinforcements and supplies as the bulk of the military force were retreated to defend the main island. Fight until they die were the last orders from the Japanese Imperial Army.

Splattered blood, gunshot wounds, dismembered limbs, and burnt carcasses are rampant after the war started. We are reminded that war inherently is evil, the soldiers are mostly unwilling parties dragged into the action. Behind every dead soldier, every mother, every wife and every child will be weeping for them. What we feel is the terrible loss of lives that war causes; the innocent people who perish under the gunfire, the artillery bombing and the grenade attacks. The acting by Ken Watanabe is incredible while the rest of the cast does a fine job with depicting their increasing desperation, their waning determination, and their unspeakable sorrow for their fallen friends.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a wonderfully made, incredibly emotional, violent, and ultimately honourable film, saluting their Japanese counterparts who perished in the war that few people know about.
****1/2