Flags of Our Fathers

I haven't read the book, so my take is totally on what Eastwood decided to focus on for this adaption of "Flags of our Fathers".

I thought Eastwood implied much of the daunting mission of overtaking Iwo Jima by the US troops through the combat footage interspersed throughout the film. It's more than enough to show that it was a horrific and treacherous mission, but the price was worth it in military terms and objectives (to end the war sooner and save more lives in the long run). I don't think I needed more warfare footage to get that people defending their land will act atrociously against those who invade their land. Most viewers will get that aspect without needing more gore and bloodshed shown to them.

The film counterbalances the Iwo Jima side by focusing on the stateside aspect of the war bond drive, with the government using the 3 surviving members of the 6 men shown photographed in that famous photo of the US troops propping up the US flag on Iwo Jima. I think that Eastwood wanted to use this aspect to draw parallels to what's going on today in terms of the government shaping public perception of the war, while also using its heroes to personalize the triumphs of the war effort and downplaying the casualties of war. For the soldiers used for the war bond drive campaign, it devolves into the predictable "what have you done for me lately" fare after the war becomes yesterday news. But it's because of films like this one that illuminates the sacrifice of soldiers, and honors their service to country, even if the government is more than just a little bit opportunistic in touting heroes as a rallying point for their war financing needs. The everyman aspect represented by the 3 surviving soldiers, and the families of the fallen is what was stressed by Eastwood and company, and it's because it could have been anyone in that photo, but the universal message is about the machinery of war and its lasting efforts on the fallen, and those who have returned, but feel, in some ways, like they have never left that island nor their brothers-in-arms.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.