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Letters from Iwo Jima

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  • Letters from Iwo Jima

    I just finished watching this film.. finally. I have been wanting to see this film for a long time, I wasn't able to see it when it was in theaters, and I just now got myself a copy... it has been a long time coming, but finally I got to watch it... And I was not disappointed!

    What a powerful film. It also helps to have previously watched Flags of our fathers, as the two movies are meshed together. Sort of like viewing the war from both sides. However, Flags felt to "Hollywood" it didn't feel real, and you didn't really get a sense of what the people were going through. Letters however, was a much much better film. It focused more on the people, rather than the actual war.. Some of the scenes were extremely powerful.

    Perhaps the best scene was when the Japanese captured an American, the Japanese commanding officer told the men to treat him, when his order was challenged "but sir the americans would not do the same for us", the CO replied have you ever met an American?...

    When the American died, the CO took a letter from the American, and read it to his men. The letter was from the captured soldiers mother, the letter was about general happenings back home, and how she missed her son and wanted the war to end so he can come home safely.

    This was especially moving, because it showed the men, that there is no difference between the Americans and Japanese. Both sides far away from home, both want nothing more than peace so that they can be with there loved ones.

    Most war movies, show the allies as courageous soldiers, and the enemy as wicked monsters.

    This film portrayed the Japanese soldier as a scared man, sentanced to death by there Culture of Honour on the battlefield

    ...To be captured or to surrender is to dishonor your family and country... The only way to bring honour to your name, is to die by the hands of your enemy, or by your own...

    It was interesting to watch each soldiers struggle with knowing that they will never see there loved ones again, and waiting to die in an un-winnable battle.

    My stepfather, who raised me. Is a second generation Japanese Canadian. I grew up with both a large Canadian, and Japanese family. I feel that I am blessed to be able to witness both cultures. This film was done with the utmost respect of the Japanese people, and I really admire how it was done. I do not think that had it have been Canadian, American or British soldiers on some shitty island, abandoned by your own government and left to rot.... That we would have done what those Japanese did. More than likely we would have negotiated a mass surrender. The Japanese fought to the last man, in honour of there loved ones...that speaks volumes to me.

    Letters from Iwo Jima has just won a special place in my heart, and now sits high on my favorite war movie list alongside Das Boot and the Band of Brother series.
    Last edited by Canmoore; 13 Aug 07,, 06:27.

  • #2
    Yeah it's too bad the Japanese had to fight so hard, if they didn't they might have avoided 2 nuclear weapons.

    I agree, I just watched it last week and it was a fantastic move. Much better than Flags.
    Originally posted by GVChamp
    College students are very, very, very dumb. But that's what you get when the government subsidizes children to sit in the middle of a corn field to drink alcohol and fuck.

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    • #3
      I have my doubts about the way the Japanese were portrayed in the movie.
      In Iran people belive pepsi stands for pay each penny save israel. -urmomma158
      The Russian Navy is still a threat, but only to those unlucky enough to be Russian sailors.-highsea

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Stan187 View Post
        I have my doubts about the way the Japanese were portrayed in the movie.
        How so?

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        • #5
          They tried to portray the main guy (a lost, Charlie Sheen in Platoon portrayal), as well as the General(?) as your average honorable joes who seemed to not fit with the desperation and indoctrination of the Japanese at the time. From what I understand, indoctrination and draconian discipline were instilled more and more as time went on and losses mounted during the war. Much the same thing happened toward the end of the war with Germany. They were brutal, that is how they were taught. I couldn't buy that "Have you ever met an American?" line from the General. More particularly, I couldn't buy the fact that the soldiers bought it. They were taught for years that Americans were the equivalent of demons come to life, and then the General says one line and they feel instant empathy?

          Out of 22,000 Japanese troops, only 216 or something like that surrendered, and not all of them by choice.

          That said, it was definitely better than Flags of Our Fathers, IMO.
          In Iran people belive pepsi stands for pay each penny save israel. -urmomma158
          The Russian Navy is still a threat, but only to those unlucky enough to be Russian sailors.-highsea

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          • #6
            The average Japanese was taught that if captured, the Americans would torture the men and rape the women. It was logical for them to believe as it was a convention for thousands of years in warfare. They truly believed the Americans were the devil. You can tell by the mass suicides of the civilians on Okinawa to avoid capture.

            I have no doubt the average Japanese soldiers thought of the Americans, in fact, any non-Japanese, to be sub human and deserved no better than the worst treatment.

            To be fair, we weren't much better. Our guys would kill any Japanese soldier if given a chance. But we drew the line at killing defenseless soldiers and civilians. We didn't treat them well (not by today's standards) but we treated them better than how they treated others.
            "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Stan187 View Post
              I couldn't buy that "Have you ever met an American?" line from the General. More particularly, I couldn't buy the fact that the soldiers bought it. They were taught for years that Americans were the equivalent of demons come to life, and then the General says one line and they feel instant empathy?
              The General in question, had been to America. He had American friends and knew what they were like as a people. His own people however were brainwashed. When he read that American soldiers letter, it was no different than any letter that a Japanese soldier would have received from home. It showed a human side to the "monstrous" Americans.

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              • #8
                Letters from Iwo Jima was a powerful movie, much better than flags, but while I respect the men from both sides, it did reinforce my dislike of the japanese warrior and samurai culture.
                Those who can't change become extinct.

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                • #9
                  wkllaw,

                  it did reinforce my dislike of the japanese warrior and samurai culture.
                  rather, the culture as it was interpreted and badly twisted by the militaristic japanese government of the 30s and 40s, into a strange, fascistic, death-cult.
                  There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by astralis View Post
                    wkllaw,



                    rather, the culture as it was interpreted and badly twisted by the militaristic japanese government of the 30s and 40s, into a strange, fascistic, death-cult.
                    Yes, I guess I should be more specific next time. Japanese culture now is pretty interesting with nice dresses for women of course the clothes for men suck, but the culture as a whole is pretty interesting and I have deep respect for it with the exceptions of a few things like the clothes men wear.
                    Those who can't change become extinct.

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                    • #11
                      My problem with Letters from Iwo Jima, was mainly to badly edited, mutilated form of the movie. It felts copy and pasted. Also for some reason the Letters from Iwo Jima had far less gore and blood than the Flags of our Fathers.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Canmoore View Post
                        The General in question, had been to America. He had American friends and knew what they were like as a people. His own people however were brainwashed. When he read that American soldiers letter, it was no different than any letter that a Japanese soldier would have received from home. It showed a human side to the "monstrous" Americans.
                        I understand. My point was that the soldiers who were brainwashed, didn't seem to be brainwashed too well, considering the took the human side of Americans to heart almost instantly on the words of the letter and the general. But there is a lot of stigma about the militaristic culture Japan used to have, so they didn't want to portray it in the movie. And that's exactly what I had a problem with.
                        In Iran people belive pepsi stands for pay each penny save israel. -urmomma158
                        The Russian Navy is still a threat, but only to those unlucky enough to be Russian sailors.-highsea

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by xerxes View Post
                          My problem with Letters from Iwo Jima, was mainly to badly edited, mutilated form of the movie. It felts copy and pasted. Also for some reason the Letters from Iwo Jima had far less gore and blood than the Flags of our Fathers.
                          I think the movie was ment to be that way. I think what Eastwood was trying to do, was to show almost a snapshot of the men on that island through those long lost letters. No one will ever know what those people really did on that island, we only have a snapshot of the human side of those people through those letters.
                          I think that it really added to this movie, and made it much better..

                          As for gore and blood, this is not a movie about the horrors of war as much as it is about the horrors these people must endure in war.
                          In most war movies, the soldiers themselves serve as the backdrop behind the war. In Letters however, the war serves as the backdrop for which these soldiers are painted on..

                          For example, in Flags the emphasis was around the raising of the American flag on Suribachi. In Letters, the flag raising was barely visible in the background as the Japanese officers discussed what to do next.
                          Last edited by Canmoore; 13 Aug 07,, 19:54.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Stan187 View Post
                            I understand. My point was that the soldiers who were brainwashed, didn't seem to be brainwashed too well, considering the took the human side of Americans to heart almost instantly on the words of the letter and the general. But there is a lot of stigma about the militaristic culture Japan used to have, so they didn't want to portray it in the movie. And that's exactly what I had a problem with.
                            War can break down any man... When your government abandoned you, and you are left to die on some bleak island knowing that you will never see your family again.. Only the most zealous spsychotic people can hold onto such a lie..

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Canmoore View Post
                              Perhaps the best scene was when the Japanese captured an American, the Japanese commanding officer told the men to treat him, when his order was challenged "but sir the americans would not do the same for us", the CO replied have you ever met an American?...

                              When the American died, the CO took a letter from the American, and read it to his men. The letter was from the captured soldiers mother, the letter was about general happenings back home, and how she missed her son and wanted the war to end so he can come home safely.

                              This was especially moving, because it showed the men, that there is no difference between the Americans and Japanese. Both sides far away from home, both want nothing more than peace so that they can be with there loved ones.
                              Did it then show the Japanese CO taking the next prisoner, cutting off his head, then stuffing the corpse's genitals in its mouth? Because that's how the Japanese treated most of their prisoners.

                              -dale

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