The filmmakers had to be given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima, because more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers still rest under its soil. In contrast, most Japanese roles in Letters from Iwo Jima are played by native Japanese actors. "[21] On the "Best Films of the Year 2006" broadcast (December 31, 2006) of the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper listed the film at #3 and guest critic A. O. Scott listed it at #1, claiming that the film was "close to perfect." Through last weekend, the Oscar-nominated Letters had grossed just under $40 million, earning it the top spot during the Japanese cinema industry's all-important New Year holiday season. Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese, although it was produced by American companies DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Amblin Entertainment. [13] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, and Richard Schickel of Time were among many critics to name it the best picture of the year. Although the film is set in Japan, it was filmed primarily in Barstow and Bakersfield in California. Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll; many die of dysentery, including Kashiwara. [20] In addition, the American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best films of 2006. The rise to power of Abe — widely described as a nationalist before his election last September — had liberal critics fearing a return of the dark days of prewar military rule. The review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 184 out of the 202 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 91%, and an average rating of 8.20/10, and a certification of "fresh." Shimizu escapes and surrenders to Americans, but is later shot dead by his guard. [18][19] On December 10, 2006, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Letters from Iwo Jima Best Picture of 2006. The equivalent exercise in the U.S. would be the New York Times devoting weeks to an investigation of who was at fault in the Civil War. The same Japanese soldiers, who fought on Iwo Jima and were depicted as being nice guys, were notoriously cruel and savage to prisoners of war. Soon, American aircraft and warships begin to appear and bombard the island, causing significant casualties. The problem is less with the U.S. — Tokyo and Washington are closer than ever — but with the rest of Asia, particularly the countries that suffered under Japanese occupation, with which no consensus over the past has been achieved. Too weak to fight, he is knocked unconscious and taken to the POW beach. The film was critically acclaimed, and well noted for its portrayal of good and evil on both sides of the battle. Just how open that question remains in Japan was underscored last year by a lengthy investigation into responsibility for the war conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's biggest newspaper. its Defense Agency to full cabinet-ministry status. Saigo plans surrender, and Shimizu reveals that he was dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai because he disobeyed an order to kill a civilian's dog. The critics heavily praised the writing, direction, cinematography and acting. The Battle of Iwo Jima was the American capture of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during the Pacific Campaign of World War II.The USA needed to capture Iwo Jima to be able to defeat Japan. Letters from Iwo Jima is remarkable as the movie that tries to escape from the stereotypes. Repeated efforts to forge a common view of the war through joint history commissions have gotten nowhere, and more than 60 years after it ended, a misplaced word about the war can still dynamite the region's fragile diplomatic balance. But the cruelty of the Japanese army, while it never reached the heights of the Germans, was horrifying enough. Letters found during Iwo Jima battle tell an uncle's story Naoko Tomioka holds letters her uncle, Tadashi Matsukawa, wrote during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief") by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the country's first leader born after World War II, has announced his intention to revise Japan's pacifist postwar constitution, and he recently elevated Read helpful reviews from our customers. Eastwood was nominated for his directing, as well as Best Picture along with producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. Later, a US patrol find Fujita's body. This was an unusual experiment by director Clint Eastwood,two films depicting the battle of Iwo Jima from opposing sides,shot back to back. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.130.28.89 ( talk • contribs ) 03:08, 26 January 2007. It was subsequently released in more areas of the U.S. on January 12, 2007, and was released in most states on January 19. Letters form Iwo Jima doesn't deserve the critical praise it's receiving, because at heart it is a simple war film with the traditional stereotypes, but because its subject is the little-known and often misunderstood Japanese enemy, it's worthy of attention from the average American as well as military history students. "Review: 'Letters from Iwo Jima." It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. It was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Filming in Los Angeles lasted for approximately two months, and other locations across the US including Virginia, Chicago, and Houston.[6]. Seeing the pistol in the Marine lieutenant's belt, Saigo becomes furious and attacks the Americans with his shovel. Back in 2005, the archeologists complete their digging, revealing the bag of letters that Saigo had buried, and open it. To the Japanese soldiers in Letters, war is hell, the same as it is everywhere else. Consequently, incorrect Japanese grammar and non-native accents were conspicuous in those former films, jarring their realism for the Japanese audience. The film is taken from the American viewpoint of the Battle of Iwo Jima, while its companion film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which Eastwood also directed, is from the Japanese viewpoint of the battle.Although it was a box office failure, only grossing $65.9 million against a $90 million budget, the film received favorable reviews from critics. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating by Captain Tanida for 'unpatriotic speeches', and orders the men to begin tunneling underground defenses into Mount Suribachi. [28], Despite favorable reviews, the film only grossed $13.7 million domestically in the United States. When I recently had lunch with Iguchi, the 75-year-old diplomat-turned-academic brought up the Clint Eastwood film Letters from Iwo Jima, which he … Civilian access to the island is restricted to those attending memorial services for fallen American Marines and Japanese soldiers. Robert’s Review. © 2019 TIME USA, LLC. But as the reviewer Aaron Gerow pointed out in the Daily Yomiuri, Letters doesn't truly attempt to grapple with history; unlike its companion movie Flags of Our Fathers, which probed the long-term cost of war and remembrance. The Japanese attack US positions but take heavy losses. Japan changed the name of the island of Iwo Jima, the site of a brutal World War II battle, to Iwo To in order to alter the island's image in the wake of Hollywood films about the battle. They flee to friendly lines, but are accused by Lieutenant Ito of desertion. Letters from Iwo Jima is a unique American-made war movie for at least two reasons: it depicts the battle from the perspective of the losers and it represents the United States as the "enemy." Saigo suspects that Shimizu is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers. As the letters spill out, the voices of the Japanese soldiers who wrote them resound. An English-dubbed version of the film premiered on April 7, 2008. Kashiwara's replacement, Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty. On December 6, 2006, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Letters from Iwo Jima the best film of 2006. According to the article, previous Hollywood movies describing Japan were based on the stereotypical images of Japanese society, which looked "weird" to native Japanese audiences. The American troops suffer heavy casualties, but the beach defenses are quickly overcome, as Kuribayashi predicted, and the attack turns to the positions on Mount Suribachi. Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi had been a top official in Japan's wartime government (as well as a prominent postwar Prime Minister), and Abe himself has, in the past, fudged the issue of his country's responsibility for the Pacific war. That's hardly been the case: Abe has so far proved admirably pragmatic in international affairs, and even the threat of a nuclear North Korea has done little to stir Japan from its accustomed postwar pacifism. But if he had, I doubt that Abe would have walked out of a screening calling it a "very good film" — and that $40 million gross might have come out a bit lighter.