Rent Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Moving & Visceral War Drama - Flags of Our Fathers review by GI

Clint Eastwood's majestically directed war drama is a very moving and interesting film, more for it's detailed examination of the effects on three men caught up in political machinations that they cannot control while suffering, in varied degrees, with PTSD following combat. This is the story of the famous and iconic Second World War photograph of six US Marines raising the American flag at the height of the battle for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The film is about the circumstances leading to the photograph being taken and the after effects of the six men who were in the photograph and some who were not but believed to be (I understand that even quite recently the identities of those in the picture is disputed). Eastwood directs a visceral combat film set on the sparse, black volcanic island, juxtapositioned with three of the surviving men who were shipped back home to play a somewhat sordid marketing game and hailed as heroes in order to induce the public to buy war bonds. It's a quite emotional journey and the combat scenes are shocking and realistic and the influence of Steven Spielberg's (who is a producer here), Saving Private Ryan (1997) are evident. Both films feature extended scenes of beach landings under heavy fire. The enemy is a faceless one and we hardly see them as this drama is played out mostly in the USA where the three men chosen are forced to re-enact battle, host parties and make speeches. Ryan Phillipe is the naval medic who is damaged by the loss of his friend Iggy (Jamie Bell), for which he blames himself, Jesse Bradford is Rene, a soldier who sees a way out of the war and enjoys the attention he receives back home and hopes to prosper because of it and Adam Beach is Ira, an American Indian, who is routinely called 'Chief' and is daily faced with the subtle racist bigotry from his friends as well as politicians and his seniors. He is the emotional heart of the film, he feels the guilt of leaving his friends back in the fighting and turns to alcohol for a crutch to cope. His plight is the most moving. There are elements of 'flag waving' in the film's presentation (not meant as a pun by the way) but I think that's the very idea in order to highlight propaganda as the political weapon to justify war while young men die, horribly, fighting it. A war film that deserves to be ranked alongside the best of war films and viewed alongside Eastwood's companion piece, Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) it is a remarkable achievement.