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Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Flags of Our Fathers movie review a 2006 film starring Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and directed by Clint Eastwood The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII. In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American cause celebre. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph. Thematically ambitious and emotionally complex, Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers is an intimate epic with much to say about war and the nature of heroism in America. Based on the non-fiction bestseller by James Bradley (with Ron Powers), and adapted by Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis (Jarhead screenwriter William Broyles Jr. wrote an earlier draft that was abandoned when Eastwood signed on to direct), this isn’t so much a conventional war movie as it is a thought-provoking meditation on our collective need for heroes, even at the expense of those we deem heroic. In telling the story of the six men (five Marines, one Navy medic) who raised the American flag of victory on the battle-ravaged Japanese island of Iwo Jima on February 23rd, 1945, Eastwood takes us deep into the horror of war (in painstakingly authentic Iwo Jima battle scenes) while emphasizing how three of the surviving flag-raisers (played by Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, and Jesse Bradford) became reluctant celebrities – and resentful pawns in a wartime publicity campaign – after their flag-raising was immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal in the most famous photograph in military history. As the surviving flag-raisers reluctantly play their public roles as “the heroes of Iwo Jima” during an exhausting (but clearly necessary) wartime bond rally tour, Flags of Our Fathers evolves into a pointed study of battlefield valor and misplaced idolatry, incorporating subtle comment on the bogus nature of celebrity, the trauma of battle, and the true meaning of heroism in wartime. Wisely avoiding any direct parallels to contemporary history, Eastwood allows us to draw our own conclusions about the Iwo Jima flag-raisers and how their postwar histories (both noble and tragic) simultaneously illustrate the hazards of exploited celebrity and society’s genuine need for admirable role models during times of national crisis. Flags of Our Fathers defies the expectations of those seeking a more straightforward war-action drama, but it’s richly satisfying, impeccably crafted film that manages to be genuinely patriotic (in celebrating the camaraderie of soldiers in battle) while dramatizing the ultimate futility of war. Eastwood’s follow-up film, Letters from Iwo Jima, examines the Iwo Jima conflict from the Japanese perspective. –Jeff Shannon
Comment by E. Bukowsky
# January 1, 2007,
Clint Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers” focuses on a pivotal event in World War II. In February 1945, the Americans attacked the well-fortified island of Iwo Jima, which was populated by an army of well-prepared Japanese soldiers. The Japanese had no intention of surrendering, since they considered Iwo Jima to be sacred Japanese soil. On the fifth day of the bloody thirty-five day battle, American soldiers proudly raised the Stars and Stripes atop Mount Suribachi. Soon thereafter, the first flag was lowered to be kept as a souvenir and a second flag raising was photographed by Joe Rosenthal. Newspapers across the United States published this now famous image and it soon became an iconic symbol of valor. Three of the six flag raisers died on Iwo Jima. The remaining three were shipped back to America and ordered to tour the country and raise money for the war effort.
These three soldiers, Rene Gagnon, John “Doc” Bradley, and Ira Hayes, were not entirely comfortable being labeled “heroes”. Their superiors cynically informed them that participating in the government’s propaganda campaign was necessary in order to sell war bonds. Therefore, Gagnon, Bradly, and Hayes had no choice but to go along in spite of their qualms.
“Flags of Our Fathers” is an earnest and touching film about the mythology of war. In order to maintain public support for their costly military endeavors, governments need to convince skeptical politicians and ordinary citizens that victory is within sight and that our men are not dying in vain. America’s military and political leaders used Gagnon, Bradly, and Hayes as pawns to shore up flagging morale and persuade citizens to sacrifice their sons and their hard-earned income to pay for the remainder of the war. When the fighting ended and the soldiers had outlived their usefulness, they were abruptly cast aside and forgotten.
The battle scenes in “Flags of Our Fathers” are harrowing and graphic. Eastwood shot some of the film in Iceland’s forbidding landscape, and these stark black and white sequences show exhausted, grimy, and terrified young soldiers trying to survive from moment to moment as they watch their buddies being blown away all around them. When a man is injured, bright red blood oozes from his gaping injuries. The carnage is wrenching and heartbreaking.
The screenplay, by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis, is based on a book by James Bradley, Doc’s son, and Ron Powers. At times, the dialogue is difficult to follow, especially during the deafening and confusing battles, many of which are shown in flashback. Eastwood explores a number of themes in “Flags of Our Fathers,” one of them being racism in the military. Black soliders were segregated, and Ira Hayes, a Native American from Arizona, kept a frozen smile on his face when he was called “chief” and “redskin.” After Hayes returned to the states, he started to deteriorate emotionally and turned to alcohol to deaden his pain and guilt. This man who stoically endured verbal abuse for years was disparaged for being a disgrace to his people and to the uniform.
Eastwood makes the point that asking our young men to leave their families and risk their lives to fight for their country may be a regrettable necessity, but it is nothing to celebrate. A dead hero is still dead, leaving his grieving family to suffer forever after. Medals are no substitute for husbands, fathers, and children. The performances are all fine, but Adam Beach stands out as the disillusioned and tormented Ira Hayes. The cast is basically an ensemble, with all of the actors contributing their part to the effort, much as their real life counterparts did back on that deadly, rocky island over sixty years ago.