Letters From Iwo Jima

Aroview: Reading from the letters of fallen comrades, Clint Eastwood crosses enemy lines in the second part of his Pacific War twofer, encapsulating the austere and solemn determination of Japanese soldiers defending the island of Iwo Jima during WWII.

Through wisdom and empathy, Eastwood’s companion piece to FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS resonates more so as a humanist drama than a combat-oriented depiction of war, and its intimate portraits of young men huddled within the cave systems of the island’s rocky topography memorializing a real sense of history, sacrifice, the Japanese ethos, and the commonality of soldiers. War, above all, comes across as resoundingly tragic, if pointless, but Eastwood stops short of any outright anti-sentiment, insistent on honoring those who gave their lives first and foremost.

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