After Clint Eastwood's American version of the Iwo Jima story, Flags of Our Fathers, premiered, it was met with surprisingly indifferent reviews. A lot of Eastwood lovers and WWII buffs were gravely disappointed. The followup, Letters from Iwo Jima, was due in February, but Eastwood bumped it back so it would come out in 2006. It, on the contrary, got rave reviews. I'm at a loss. I thought they were both of about the same quality: they are respectable but unremarkable WWII films. Letters is notable, I suppose, because it tells the Japanese side of the story, and humanizes an American enemy to a pretty much unheard of degree. But that's not enough to win me over by itself. It's been a long enough time where I don't think anyone would think the Japanese were all inhuman monsters. The story follows a young soldier, Saigo (well portrayed by Kazunari Ninomiya, a relative newcomer), who begins the battle inside Suribachi Hill. In Flags of Our Fathers, the vast majority of the war story took place on this hill, on top of which the American soldiers raised the titular flags. Letters covers the entire battle, which, if I remember right, lasted over a month. Much to Saigo's commanders' dismay, Saigo doesn't quite feel like sacrificing himself in this impossible battle, and he narrowly escapes death several times. Another prominent character is General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, played by Ken Watanabe. Unlike most of the commanding officers under him, he is completely sympathetic with the underlings' anxieties, and he also acknowledges his enemies as human beings. It sure is frightening to experience the losing side of a battle (though I don't see much difference either way if you die, or even if you witness dozens of your friends die), but I didn't really think Letters from Iwo Jima broke new ground. There are plenty of Japanese movies about the war that are far more powerful, especially Kobayashi's The Human Condition, which I think is probably the best WWII film (or series of films) ever made. Frankly, I was frequently bored by Letters from Iwo Jima. It does have some great moments, but I don't at all feel it's essential.