Special Features:
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I will say up front I liked Flags of Our Fathers, but did not love it. It is a good story about how an iconic image can mean so much to people, and it gives all the marines who fought and died at Iwo Jima the recognition they deserve as this was one of the most hard fought battles of WWII, but it is just missing something that I don't know if I can define on one viewing.

What I really liked about the film is that it talks about the mood of the country in a way I have never heard before. Normally when WWII is talked about we just hear how the country rallied around the troops and everything was perfect. What we find out here was as the war stretched into 1945, American public support was waning and the government was so short of cash to fund the war that it was just printing money that had no real value. The famous image from Iwo Jima became a rallying point for the American public and Flags of Our Fathers focuses on three of the men in the picture who were brought back home to help with the war bond drive. It turns out that this was one of the great spin jobs in history as the picture was actually from a second group of men who put the flag up and although it seems like a picture representing American victory in reality it was taken on day 3 of a 35 plus day battle. Many soldiers died on Iwo Jima after the picture was taken including three of the men in the photo. In the end this probably doesn't make a difference, but it is always interesting to hear the whole story and see how relevant it is even today.

The battle scenes are intense and I liked the structure and the way the film moved back and forth through time and events. I particularly liked the focus on the struggle of the Ira Hayes, the Native American soldier played by Adam Beach. He would have much rather stayed at Iwo Jima and died with his fellow soldiers than be at home on the war bond drive and perpetuating a story he knew was a half truth. My biggest issue with the film was with the ending. As with Saving Private Ryan it pulled me right out of the picture and had a little too much Spielberg like "cheese" for its own good.

I am really looking forward to Letters from Iwo Jima which is the companion piece to this film. I have heard that it is both a better film and makes Flags of Our Fathers better when you have seen the other side of the Iwo Jima story. I also need to give a special mention to director Clint Eastwood. He is one of the few filmmakers that is getting both better and more adventurous as he gets older. That is a rare feat that needs to be applauded.

(February 2007)