Flags of Our Fathers
2006
****
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Ryan Philippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, Robert Patrick, Neal McDonough, Melanie Lynskey, Tom McCarthy
Clint Eastwood has come a long way since his previous war films, Firefox and Heartbreak Ridge, which were mostly jingoistic macho posturing. This gripping, moving, and thought-provoking war drama tells the story behind the iconic photograph in which American soldiers raise the flag during the battle of Iwo Jima. The three surviving soldiers are paraded at home in order to raise funds for the war effort, but the men hate being called heroes. The story cuts seamlessly between Iwo Jima and the home front, but the clunky ending takes about 30 minutes to wrap things up. Eastwood shot Letters from Iwo Jima at the same time, and it covers the events on the island from the Japanese perspective.
