Flags of our fathers
Clint Eastwood can be depended on to serve up a good film and even more so these days when he adds certain messages of wisdom as he does in this one. The film has a very interesting approach to war. One is the issue that often returned servicemen refuse to talk about their experiences, partly because of the horror they experienced and do not wish to remember or because it is too difficult to recount in a digestible way for the public. 
Another issue is society’s desire to make heroes of the soldiers when they often feel they no more deserve this than their dead comrades. All this is seen in Eastwoods retelling of the battle for Iwo Jima (very good battle scenes) and the aftermath when three of the ‘heroes’ are swept back into a sickening parade across the country recreating the flag raising and encouraging the public to buy bonds. 
These entertainment showpieces are common today and Eastwood subtly questions the morality of this. The acting, special effects and direction are all fine with Adam Beach as the Indian member of the trio who sees through all the sham being particularly convincing and Ryan Philippe giving us a sober performance. 
The down side would be some over repetitive dialogue and one or two mawkish scenes at the end – you can’t avoid Hollywood and Spielberg as the producer. But there is no denying the importance of this film as a point of debate and as an addition to the interpretations of the military history of the US. It may not be Clint’s greatest but it is a worthy addition to his work.
Read the rest of this entry ... (1 words left)
