Letters from Iwo Jima

Synopsis

Directed by Clint Eastwood, this war film tells the story of the battle for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima between American and Japanese forces in World War II. Unusually for a western movie, it is told from the point of view of Japanese soldiers, focusing on an unconventional general, Kuribayashi, who does not share the fanaticism of his fellow officers. Though semi-fictionalised, many of the characters in the film are based on real people, and the film avoids World War II cliches to paint a melancholy picture of men with human desires and failings caught up in a hellish situation.