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Flags of Our Fathers offers a well balanced
portrayal of the various characters
throughout the film and their first actions
when they landed on the beach of heavily
entrenched island of Iwo Jima.
The group of men followed in the film is led
by “Mike Strank,” Barry Pepper, a seasoned
platoon sergeant who could have stayed
behind but opted to remain with his men.
The marines slowly pick their way through a
maze of bunkers and booby traps, set for them
by the wily Japanese, and heavily pay the price
for it. Just when you think the movie will entirely
reveal to you the story in order, fight first, then
flag waving and grieving afterward, the story
portrayal of the various characters
throughout the film and their first actions
when they landed on the beach of heavily
entrenched island of Iwo Jima.
The group of men followed in the film is led
by “Mike Strank,” Barry Pepper, a seasoned
platoon sergeant who could have stayed
behind but opted to remain with his men.
The marines slowly pick their way through a
maze of bunkers and booby traps, set for them
by the wily Japanese, and heavily pay the price
for it. Just when you think the movie will entirely
reveal to you the story in order, fight first, then
flag waving and grieving afterward, the story
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begins to jump back and forth between the struggle on Iwo Jima and the aftermath. At first I wanted all the action but
then I yielded myself to Joel Cox’s intricate editing and was all the more satisfied for the patient cut he achieved.
There were many men who died on the beach that day and if I were forced to hear their names a few times at the
beginning of the film and try to put a face to a name later I would have been thoroughly confused, this way I was
constantly reminded who people were. On the day our platoon reaches the top of the Japanese mountain fortress, they
are told to set a flag, and when they do a series of events are set in motion that lead to the creation of one of the most
poignant photographs of World War II.
Every American has seen that picture at one time of his/her life with some knowing and others not knowing of its
importance. Three soldiers from this platoon return to America and spearhead a public relations bonanza, behind the
photo, to raise much need funds to continue the march to Tokyo.
While a cynical director might have taken this opportunity to slam current admistration policy on war economics,
Eastwood remains objective and presents the government lackeys in charge of this task as human and even likeable in
their undesirable job.
The soldiers too do their bit despite having reservations about who was said to be in the photograph and who actually
was in the photograph. Their whirlwind tour of America takes its toll on one of the three soldiers, “Ira Hayes,” thoughtfully
played by Adam Beach, an American Indian who clearly feels every bit of guilt possible that he survived while so many of
his friends didn’t.
It's daring of Eastwood to make a “war film” at a time when the country, sadly and once again, is at war. This is not so
daring, however, after one realizes that under the surface, Flags of Our Fathers seeks to reaffirm within every American
the belief that life is precious and that the people who fight in war and are called heroes are just like everyone else, and
while they perform actions on a battlefield that appear heroic, yet they are just trying to stay alive.
- Raymond Reehill
then I yielded myself to Joel Cox’s intricate editing and was all the more satisfied for the patient cut he achieved.
There were many men who died on the beach that day and if I were forced to hear their names a few times at the
beginning of the film and try to put a face to a name later I would have been thoroughly confused, this way I was
constantly reminded who people were. On the day our platoon reaches the top of the Japanese mountain fortress, they
are told to set a flag, and when they do a series of events are set in motion that lead to the creation of one of the most
poignant photographs of World War II.
Every American has seen that picture at one time of his/her life with some knowing and others not knowing of its
importance. Three soldiers from this platoon return to America and spearhead a public relations bonanza, behind the
photo, to raise much need funds to continue the march to Tokyo.
While a cynical director might have taken this opportunity to slam current admistration policy on war economics,
Eastwood remains objective and presents the government lackeys in charge of this task as human and even likeable in
their undesirable job.
The soldiers too do their bit despite having reservations about who was said to be in the photograph and who actually
was in the photograph. Their whirlwind tour of America takes its toll on one of the three soldiers, “Ira Hayes,” thoughtfully
played by Adam Beach, an American Indian who clearly feels every bit of guilt possible that he survived while so many of
his friends didn’t.
It's daring of Eastwood to make a “war film” at a time when the country, sadly and once again, is at war. This is not so
daring, however, after one realizes that under the surface, Flags of Our Fathers seeks to reaffirm within every American
the belief that life is precious and that the people who fight in war and are called heroes are just like everyone else, and
while they perform actions on a battlefield that appear heroic, yet they are just trying to stay alive.
- Raymond Reehill
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