Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

I was never really planning on watching "Flags of Our Fathers" but, after having now seen this one, I think I might kind of have to. This film feels more like a counter-point than like a fully formed story all its own...like a couple of episodes in an HBO miniseries on the subject.

Ken Watanabe gives a beautiful performance as the general in charge of defending the island. He knows that the job he's been given is near impossible but still wants to play it smart -- doing as much as he can for his country. His unconventional methods put him at odds with the traditionalists he commands and makes his difficult task doubly so. The other character we spend a lot of time with is Saigon, a bottom-of-the-totem-pole soldier. I think he's supposed to be the guy who helps us identify with the boys on the other side, but I found him to be overly sentimental. He believes in the general, wants to get home to his wife, and is just altogether charming -- basically an invention rather than real.

The severe look of the film was great, but I would've preferred that the running time and content be treated with like severity.

B-