Eastwood diptych

[feministransguy]

After grading, I watched Letters from Iwo Jima last night and (after finishing all grading) Flags of Our Fathers today.

War movies are one of my least favorite genres after stupid teenage boy/Adam Sandler flicks, but Eastwood's diptych diverge from the traditional heroic shoot-em-ups by following the decade or so long turn to focusing on

Comments

[expanding_x_man]

I enjoyed both those films and would see them again. I liked the American Indian character in Flags of Our Fathers and yes, they humanized the Japanese in Letters from Iwo Jima without exonerating or romanticizing them for their imperial war adventures. I especially liked the second film, it brought tears to my eyes when the general is listening to the Japanese children sing on the radio and he knows that his battle is lost. Beautifully done! Yes, it does help one to understand the Japanese from the inside out, and know that for all, war is ultimately hell and filled with loss. Again, it does so without making cheap sentimental statements.

[feministransguy]

Yes, I like the Ira Hayes character too because he was the man most willing to show grief. When he hugged and cried with the grieving mother he validated her role as a mother (the only role she got to have) while consoling her with his respect for her son.