The second part of Eastwood's Iwo Jima series is quite a downer. Shot from the Japanese point of view Letters from Iwo Jima creates dislike and admiration from soldiers on both sides. Stylistically, the movie is very diverse. For much of the movie the film is shot with very high contrast lighting. The color of the movie itself can be compared to the tint of Saving Private Ryan. There are select images that the color pops against the dull setting. Fire and the red on the Japanese flag keep their normal color and standout. Flashbacks, indicated by dissolves, are brighter than that of the scenes on Iwo Jima. This could be a stab at war in that it is darker than normal life.
The story itself is none to pleasing. It is clear from the beginning that all of the Japanese on the island will die. The most depressing scene is when a series of Japanese soldiers kill themselves by grenade. For much of the first half of the film, we do not see any American soldiers directly. They are talked about and in a very spooky way shown through extreme long shots of planes ships, and their landing on the beaches of Iwo Jima. There is no true protagonist on either side. As Peter Howell describes, "Eastwood shows vile behaviour and cruel acts on both sides."
The story itself is none to pleasing. It is clear from the beginning that all of the Japanese on the island will die. The most depressing scene is when a series of Japanese soldiers kill themselves by grenade. For much of the first half of the film, we do not see any American soldiers directly. They are talked about and in a very spooky way shown through extreme long shots of planes ships, and their landing on the beaches of Iwo Jima. There is no true protagonist on either side. As Peter Howell describes, "Eastwood shows vile behaviour and cruel acts on both sides."
7 comments:
i liked this movie. im not much of a war movie guy but this is one i enjoyed.eastwoods cinematic lighting and contrast are brilliant. it is very much like saving private ryan in the sense that it is filmed the same way. I thought the way he displayed colors was very cool and interesting also. in my opinion eastwood is a much better director than he is an actor
The first thing that I noticed about this film was the "tint" that Charlie mentioned. The bland color really emphasized the depressed feelings that were created by the Japanese solders. In a sense, this movie is like all other typical war movies but Letters from Iwo Jima's center is surrounded by deep unhappy emotions, such as the flashback of one of the solders when he was drafted into the army and had to leave his wife and soon to be newborn. I think this aspect makes it different than a typical war film, and the choice of low lighting and dramatic action scenes enhances the film all together.
Eastwood has a knack for depression. Whether it be Mystic River, Letters from Iwo Jima, Unforgiven, or even Gran Torino, the heroes are flawed. In many ways that makes Eastwood the most human of directors. The dark style of all of his films still create a sense of wanting the protagonist (if we can call him that) to succeed. Leave it to Eastwood to make me cheer for a racist, vigilante cowboy, and the Japanese during WWII. Personally, I would've liked to have seen a cameo from Eastwood. It would have been sweet to see him kill two Japanese before getting shot in the knee. I also liked the scene at the end where the wounded Japanese soldier is placed next to a line of wounded American soldiers. The symbolism is hard to miss.
Charlie, you explained Eastwood's characteristics well. Towards the end of the movie, I was honestly captured into it (sounds dumb I know, but I teared up when the two surrenders were shot). I think it was the dialog, low lighting (with some extreme instances between light and dark), character roles that were collectively really influential. And for a war movie, I actually ended up really liking this film.
like every one else i was very captured by the lighting that clint eastwoood used. i loved saving private ryan for that and when i watched this movie i imediatley was excited. it really sets the mood for me. even though i knew right from the get go it was gonna end badly for everyone on the island the whole lighting and some of the ways he popped color out was very capturing to me.
chaz, i have to agree with you on a cameo of eastwood in iwo jima. that could have made this one of the greatest film of all time. just have eastwood go on a rampage or something before getting gunned down by a japanese soldier. well maybe not in this movie but it would have been sweet if he did that in flags of our fathers
Wow, Kate let's not get too emotional here. But then again it is hard not to tear up when one sees a Japanese soldier take his own life. Eastwood is the greatest director of our time. His use of imagery and the ability to extract great performances of possibly not the best actors is a true testament to his leadership style and his hardwork. Tip o' the cap to the old man.
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