In his review of "Letters from Iwo Jima", Roger Ebert recalled the line from "Patton"'s iconic monologue, you don't win a war by dying for your country but by making "the other poor dumb bastard die for his country", maybe that's why the Americans won the war after all, they fought to death. Japanese, while honorably, fought to their death, too.And "Flags of Our Fathers", first opus of Clint Eastwood's "Iwo Jima" duology also reminded me of a quote from the same monologue: "an army is a team - it lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap." And as far as exemplifying the team spirit within the army, the famous picture of the flag-raising over Mount Suribashi is quite an eloquent illustration.It is indeed one of the most iconic, parodied and probably misundestood pictures of all time, taken at face value and wrongly translated as the epitome of victory while the battle, one of the toughest and deadliest of WW2, was still going on and half of the soldiers in the picture would eventually die. Interestingly, we never see their faces and for a few of them their bodies, but that's what makes it such a great symbol of anonymous heroism carried by a group, not individuals.In other words, it shouldn't have mattered who raised the flag, and I guess it didn't, what mattered is that it was the American flag and that sight was enough to awaken the Americans from lassitude and convince them to buy bonds. So the American government couldn't rely on a simple photograph, and needed the three survivors to play the game as ambassadors from that moment that stopped belonging to them, but to history, transiting though with politics. Clint Eastwood's adaptations of James Bradley's novel, takes us, in a fascinating introspection into the various perceptions of heroism depending on the perspectives. Even in Eastwood movies I disliked like "Unforgiven" and "American Sniper", I respected morally ambiguous characters for some values they carried and that I could relate to. Here I expected a new "Saving Private Ryan", but Spielberg is "only" the producer, Eastwood isn't the preacher type (not always anyway) and the flag isn't the end, but the beginning.And for the survivors, the beginning of an odd journey. Harlon Block (Benjamin Walker) and Sergeant Michael Strank (Barry Pepper) were all dead and as soon as the survivors were identified, they're taken for a long ride across America to encourage cheerful crowds to buy war bonds. The film unveil many aspects of their lives and how it affected their reactions. The father of the novel's author, Pharmacist "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe) is good-hearted and altruistic, he comforted his dying comrades and takes his new assignment as a way to comfort the spirits of people. Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) sort of enjoys his new fame and the attention it brings (so does his girlfriend) but insists that he was just lucky, as they all say, the real heroes didn't come back. The most tragic character and the soul of the film is Ira Hayes (Adam Beach in a performance that should have earned him a few nods), his experience doesn't differ from the rest of the soldiers except that he's of Native background, an outcast status that pushed him to keep a low profile which was perfect for the army body. Being propelled in the main front, not to fight but to pose as a clean-cut hero could only make things worse to him, especially when he's still victim of racist paternalism or plain segregation. Hayes' tragedy is that he's not concerned by politics but politics were concerned by him.The film is punctuated with many war flashbacks that show the incredible gap between the atrocities in the island and the whole backstage show, the most infamous episode is Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowky (Jamie Bell) whose death is only alluded but a glimpse on a Wikipedia page will tell you that some soldiers' blood drop more significantly than other on the sand of Iwo Jima. Violence reached such a paroxysm that there was no possible way for the soldiers to recover unless they decided to keep quiet about it, about the details anyway. And yet the three survivors had to talk, talk and talk.They were even forced to replicate the deed over a mountain made of carton during a big exhibition in a stadium with the typical American fireworks, cheerleaders and all that jazz their supervisor prepared. The pseudo-flag-raising intercut with scenes of extreme violence, showing the deaths of the other soldiers, create a difficult mood whiplash but it's crucial in the understanding of another sad aspect about war, you must pretend.. These guys must act as heroes because the war needed them to be heroes, even the picture while speaking a thousand words, didn't say that it was the second flag raising, causing one of the soldiers to be misidentified, although his mother could, even from behind.The film reveals many secrets about the iconic shot, a lucky one from a photographical perspective and it also reminded me of Jean Gabin's speech in "The President", addressing a parliament member parliament too young to have fought in WW1, he said "you talk about millions but as a guy in the trenches, I can only remember a dozen of deaths, scope differs whether you're in or out the front", indeed.For the politician, it's about the big picture. For soldiers, it's just about kill and not to be killed, and protecting or saving your buddies. The tragedy is more intimate and it follows the 'privileged' ones for the rest of their lives... that's heroic enough to me. And the picture reminded of this adage: when a man points to the moon, the fool sees his finger. The government looked at for the American flag, but Eastwood is pointing to the guys who raised it.

The story of the flag-raisers of Iwo Jima is a fascinating one. From the perhaps not-so-common knowledge that the picture was actually of the second flag raised on the mountain, to the misrepresentation of those even in the picture, it is a narrative filled with drama and human interest. Director Clint Eastwood is the perfect figure to tackle such a project, and he does so with his usual aplomb (aside from perhaps a few narrative structure hiccups).For a basic plot summary, "Flags Of Our Fathers" tells the story of that famous picture taken of the American flag being hoisted atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima. The film many focuses on John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), & Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), three of the flag-raisers who survived the war and were recruited by the military to tell their story and be hailed as heroes to drum up sales for war bonds. Initially, the three men seem quite uncomfortable in this role, and as the story progresses (filled with flashbacks to the Iwo Jima battle itself) we learn why: Not only was the famous picture taken of the "second flag", but there is even an error regarding which men are in the picture. The military pushes the rhetoric over the truth in order to "sell, sell, sell" those war bonds, and the three men must deal with those repercussions.First and foremost, "Flags of our Fathers" is a great movie because it has a great story to tell. Most Americans can identify that iconic flag-raising photo, but many did not know the interesting story behind it. All movies succeed/fail primarily by the strength of the story, and it is in this category where "Flags" shines the brightest. One can see their own parents or grandparents (who may have participated in WW2) through the lens of these characters, and even extrapolate upon themes of military deception or obfuscation of the truth. Fortunately, Eastwood is always very good at keeping things grounded and practical instead of "rah rah" political, so this isn't a preachy film by any means. It lays out the story and lets the viewer make their own conclusions.Supporting that fine story is some great acting all the way around. The three leads are spot-on, while the auxiliary cast features such strong performers as: John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, & Neil McDonough. Simply put, acting isn't a problem in this film (!).About the only reason I can't give this picture the full five stars is because of Eastwood's rather odd choice of telling the narrative in such a disjointed fashion. Parts are flashbacks, parts are narrated by a researcher interviewing the aged veterans of Iwo Jima, and even the "real time" action can jump forward or back in time with little to no warning. To me, this led to a rather disjointed experience in trying to follow the overall narrative. It seemed like every time I would get comfortable in what time/place was being presented in the scene, it would jump to another just as quick. Luckily, Eastwood is a good enough director to still "make it work", but his other films usually take a more straightforward, direct approach.Overall, though, "Flags of our Fathers" is a great film filled with wartime action, human interest, and a story that will last down through the generations. It may lack the utter gravitas of the earlier "Saving Private Ryan", but it tells an equally (if not even more) compelling story. The telling of that story may be a bit fractured, but the sum of the parts is quite a moving, emotional experience.

In 1945, the picture of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima becomes an immediate icon. The six soldiers in the picture become instant celebrity heroes. Three of them are brought back to the states to sell Bonds. Corpsman John 'Doc' Bradley (Ryan Phillippe) continues to be haunted for the rest of his life. He and others Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), Hank Hansen (Paul Walker), Mike Strank (Barry Pepper), Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) and Franklin Sousley (Joseph Cross) train together and sent into Iwo Jima. They are led by Captain Severance (Neal McDonough). Rene Gagnon tells the brass that Ira Hayes was one of the flag raiser which truly angers him and which he denies. Keyes Beech (John Benjamin Hickey) and Bud Gerber (John Slattery) push the tour selling the picture and War Bonds. There is confusion about the two flags and controversy over who the true people in the picture. It's a darker compelling telling of the battle and its aftermath. It starts moody and even the battle isn't as heroic as expected. A man falls overboard and no ship stops to save him. The battle is ugly and bloody. There is a greyness to the battle that makes it almost black and white. The confusion adds depth to the characters and the reactions add substance. The fascinating thing about this is that their odyssey doesn't end after the battle. This is also a movie about the human condition. Adam Beach is especially good in a juicy role struggling with guilt and pride.

The fabrication of a cure to what ails us and the device used to push that image can be intoxicating to each other. In Flags of Our fathers, the film is meant to show the conflict of that existence and the effects of those unwillingly cast into the leading role. Kudos to Mr. Eastwood for telling the story. I just wish I could sink my teeth into the characters more. I feel as if I went to a buffet only to relish quality over quantity. The war scenes were engrossing but the leading men showed their character that they already had. They were the same person from beginning to the end and the end is a sad story, as all war is. If we were able to truly be encapsulated by only only one of those characters, like Daniel Day Lewis' Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York, then the history lesson can play out on another level. Editing a film to be non-linear doesn't make it more intriguing in this case, only a bit confusing considering the different narratives and no one character to rally around. Our Corpsman, wannabe Hero and drunken Indian come across as victims to time and place, like all war fatalities.