"Letters from Iwo Jima" I wanted to see for several reasons. First, I appreciate the work of Clint Eastwood and Ken Watanabe, and secondly, some time succumbed fascination with the culture and history of Japan. The action of this war drama, based on the facts, takes place in 1945 in the Pacific Ocean, and precisely on a small island of volcanic origin - Iwo Jima, which is considered a sacred place. 21-thousandth branch of Japanese soldiers is sent there on a mission from which no return - the longest goal is to defend this important strategic point for Empire. Command includes General Tadamichi Kuribashi that creates a totally new defensive strategy, based only on the black rock of the island, through the combination of different parts of a network of underground tunnels, caves and bunkers. In the middle of a war in which death is the highest honor, the general orders his subordinates to fight to the end in defense of loved ones who remained in their homeland. 62 years ago the armies of the United States and Japan clashed on Iwo Jima. Decades later, during excavations there found hundreds of letters that Japanese soldiers wrote to their loved ones. The basis for the script of this film was for me a list of general Kuribashiego addressed initially in the US, and already besieged island.
This brilliant commander lived for many years in the United States as an envoy of the Japanese government, which openly spoke out against the war, however, when her actually occurred - surrendered to the will of the Emperor, and took upon himself the duty of defense of Iwo Jima, standing in front of people who previously thought for his friends. It is thanks to him battle, which was to be bloody defeat - turned into almost a month heroic. February 19, 1945 year 110,000 Americans launched an attack on Iwo Jima from the ocean, land and air.
It is worth noting that strategists calculated that Japanese resistance will not last longer than five days, but thanks to a sophisticated system of underground fortifications were fought until 16 March 1945. The final balance was killed seven thousand Americans and more than twenty thousand Japanese, and allowed the invaders to get the island to use it as an airbase during the later attacks on the Country of Cherry Blossoms.
Reality is wariatkowo
It must be mentioned that the "Letters from Iwo Jima" were filmed alternately with another Eastwood film, namely the "Flags of Our Fathers," which first came into the cinemas. He also talks about the struggles on this island, but from the point of view of the Americans. In addition, it describes the story of the soldiers, who against their will were declared heroes. In my opinion very important is the fact that the director made it clear that you can not glorify any of the parties to the conflict, and that it decided to risk and did justice to the Japanese. It is interesting to me is that in "Letters from Iwo Jima" almost can not see the Americans, allowing perfectly empathize with the situation of the defenders of the island, fighting out of hiding. Focusing on a handful of characters and showing the battle through the prism of their personal experiences, they built an image of each of the parties to the conflict - in this way Eastwood works both complement each other and form a single, coherent whole. Japanese signed the judgment to themselves, even though they knew very well that they do not save their homeland.
Deprived of hope for the support and evacuation: they fought to the end. Americans were confident of their victory, while their opponents defense of the island was a point of honor. This film shows direct confrontation ideals soldier from the Land of the Rising Sun of the war apocalypse, which receives all the people, even the semblance of humanity.
It turns out that not everyone wanted to die for the country or commit suicide simply because they were not strong enough to live and die with honor. Japanese is also a man: feel pain, fear and suffering, just like any of us. I think that both "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers," which already mentioned, show very clearly that on both sides of the barricade fighting quite similar to each other people who simply wanted to survive and return to their families .
Contrary to all appearances, I discussed the movie is not the story of the defeated, but their emotions, conflicts and diversity of characters. The main hero of "Letters from Iwo Jima" is, of course, General Tadamichi Kuribashi - a historical figure, an excellent strategist and commander of the backrest which is without hope for their soldiers. Eastwood hired for the role of the famous Japanese actor - Ken Watanabe, nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role as leader of the rebels in "The Last Samurai" and the wider audience of even well-known "Memoirs of a Geisha," where he played the President. In my opinion, Watanabe perfectly fulfilled the task entrusted to him, revealing his hero in a very credible and charismatic way. There's no denying that I really appreciate films in which