Has anyone else seen this film? I saw it yesterday, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was directed by Clint Eastwood, and I know he's directed before but off the top of my head I couldn't say what.
It was definitely an atypical 'war movie'. In fact, I'd say that the majority of it (perhaps half, anyway) was devoted to dealing with three of the soldiers who raised one of the famous flags at Iwo Jima after they returned to the States to help raise money for the war effort.
The more I think of it, the more I think it reminds me of Unforgiven. It definitely lacks the humor of that film, although there is some dark humor...but it makes me think that perhaps the whole experience-during and after-really was like this for those particular three soldiers.
It still somewhat defies description for me. One thing I can say is that man...the end credits were grim. Very grim. As in, I actually felt nervous. Somehow the combination of the music running coupled with the (very high quality) photos they had of many scenes of Iwo Jima was positively nerve wracking. Can't say I've ever had that happen before in a set of credits.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Eastwood directed Unforgiven and won the Oscar for it.
I've read the Book Flags of Our Fathers and it by no means is a light, entertaining read. Very sad, actually.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Define "atypical war movie," please. I mean, I love Tigerland, but that's about the only war movie that hasn't made my eyes glaze over. I didn't enjoy Enemy at the Gates or Saving Private Ryan. Maybe it's the fight scenes. With Enemy at the Gates, I just got so confused that I stopped trying to figure out what was going on and succumbed to boredom. At the same time, I couldn't tell you what was so confusing about it.
I thought the trailer for this movie looked really interesting...except for my previous bad experiences with war movies.
-pH
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Well, at least 1/2 of it is not a fight scene, or anywhere close to a fight scene. Most of those scenes takes place in the United States, following three men, their handler, and other related people on a tour around the United States to raise money for the war effort.
It has very little in common with either Enemy at the Gates or Saving Private Ryan, except that both involve WWII. It's not a happy film. I think perhaps that's what I was trying to get at-the war is not a good experience for any of the chacarcters involved. Some war movies, notably Saving Private Ryan, have a 'happy' ending of sorts. This film does not. It tastes pretty authentic to me. I didn't have to turn off the switch in my brain that lets me suspend disbelief.
It can be a bit tricky to latch onto, though. Because the movie alternates frequently from Iwo Jima (and the boat ride there), to the United States on tour, and back again, I lost my spot for a moment once or twice.
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
What's making me particularly interested in this movie is the fact that it's just the first of two that Eastwood directed simultaneously. The second film, which I believe comes out around February, tells the story of Iwo Jima from the Japanese soldiers' perspectives. It's shot entirely in Japanese, and stars the guy from "The Last Samurai" (no, not Tom Cruise) as the general.
Anyway, I haven't seen "Flags of Our Fathers" yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Eastwood's turned out to be an even better director than he is an actor.
Posted by Shepherd (Member # 7380) on :
In my opinion Flags of Our Fathers was well done, but it wasn't terribly interesting. As a film, it was well shot, good score, good acting, good directing. But I just didn't find the story interesting. The film just failed to grab me, or even make me care very much.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
It doesn't have a happy ending? That's strange. Every Clint Eastwood directed movie I've seen had a feel good feeling at the end. I didn't know he was capable of otherwise.
**I want to see this, and I don't dig war films.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
hah. that's funny.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tarrsk: What's making me particularly interested in this movie is the fact that it's just the first of two that Eastwood directed simultaneously. The second film, which I believe comes out around February, tells the story of Iwo Jima from the Japanese soldiers' perspectives. It's shot entirely in Japanese, and stars the guy from "The Last Samurai" (no, not Tom Cruise) as the general.
Anyway, I haven't seen "Flags of Our Fathers" yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Eastwood's turned out to be an even better director than he is an actor.
I think you meant Ken Watanabe, did you know he actually did Shakespearean theatre before he did movies?
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Wait a minute, Unforgiven has a happy ending Ben? At the very best, it was bittersweet.