The black beach of Iwo Jima has greener grass
Last night, I watched the new Clint Eastwood movie. It will probably win some Oscars. At the very least, it is likely that it’ll be nominated for many. This post is not meant to be a review, so let’s get the brief summary over with - Flags of Our Fathers is a straight forward story with an ensemble cast which delivers what is required of it. It’s a movie typical of Eastwood - has great production values, and a good old fashioned telling of an old fashioned story. The only “edginess” comes from the amount of gore the audience is exposed to (Spielberg eat your heart out - you only showed us severed limbs. This old man shows us much more and much worse).
The theater seemed to have an almost equal mix of the very old and the very young. Some of the latter walked out during the movie. While some returned (notably the couple sitting in the same row as I, each of whom had to go out and come back in - separately!), I’m not sure if all did.
I wonder who this movie was made for (other than the Oscar jury, of course). Why does Eastwood insist on telling this story to a generation, whose members if they had sat through the entire movie will now forever associate Iwo Jima with Ryan Phillippe? Eastwood’s age refuses to go away from my mind. He is 76. Is he leaving behind a legacy? Is this an attempt to immortalize his generation and the values that mattered to them in a world which has forgotten both?
I can’t help feeling a little jealous of his generation. At least they have these big ideas they can claim as their own - patriotism, courage, honor - even if with time they might feel that these are only words. What do we have except our collective cynicism and Jon Stewart?
In this movie, when a heroic moment is suspected of being staged, it makes almost everyone in the movie feel uncomfortable and shatters one or two. I can’t help feeling that if the same incident were to take place today, we would be surprised if the heroic moment actually turned out to be genuine. And even then, there will always be a few conspiracy theorists in every group who will make the rest of us feel guilty for being so gullible. Whether you are from the 40s or 90s, both sets of people have been lied to. The question is, is it better to be so used to being lied to that you lose your ability to think of anything as being true? Or is it better to not know you’re being lied to, and to break your heart when you find out about it? The grass is always greener on the other side.
Comments (11 comments)
hmm… nice writeup on the movie.. i was wiaiting on it to see if it really was as good as his previous ones (mystic river, million dollar baby).. I guess i ll wait some more time as i seem to be getting mixed reviews…
If u r a movie buff andwouldnt mind a wortha wtahc in dvd movie, pl. do watch “Lucky Number Slevin”. They have tried to come up like a mix of pulp fiction and oceans 11. It is really good for a dvd watch.
P.S: happy deepavali ofcourse!!
B / October 23rd, 2006, 12:42 am / #
sorry for my jumbled words. my keyboard has become cranky and am waiting on my ebay order to be shipped… Also i am typing in the dark
B / October 23rd, 2006, 12:43 am / #
Interesting….
I think Departed would provide this movie keen competition. Its one of those movies that go on to become a cult legend a la Godfather and Pulp Fiction.
Aditya / October 23rd, 2006, 2:37 am / #
Interesting….
I think Departed would provide this movie keen competition. Its one of those movies that go on to become a cult legend a la Godfather and Pulp Fiction.
Oh btw. Stochastica. Interesting name. Are you a mathematician by any chance? Its a word you don’t come across anywhere else.
Aditya / October 23rd, 2006, 2:38 am / #
B: Thank you and happy Deepavali to you, too! I was curious about Slevin - wanted to watch it, but wasn’t sure if Josh Hartnett was worth the risk… But will add to my Metflix Q now…
Aditya: Was warned off Departed by a friend who thought there were too many double and triple crosses…And about stochastica - Karthik’s the mathematician. I just write here
DoZ / October 23rd, 2006, 7:22 pm / #
Oh well you were warned off for no reason. See it!..
Hmm…
Aditya / October 24th, 2006, 11:39 pm / #
Hi how r u? Been long. Happy belated Deepavali wishes.
Finally a good movie to complete the year. Havent watched it yet but the trailer was great and the soundtrack is magical. Hopefully Letters from Iwojima fares the same. Imagine having two movies nominated for the best pic for Clint. Hes going to break all sort of records. The last was Sordeberg i guess.
gp / October 26th, 2006, 2:02 am / #
doz, need ur help on something urgently…mailed ur gmail a/c…adding a comment in case u havent chekd that..pl check and reply as soon as you can…thanks a ton!
Ganja Turtle / October 26th, 2006, 2:26 pm / #
where is karthik?where is karthik?where is karthik?
raj / November 10th, 2006, 11:08 pm / #
[...] This week-end I watched the second part of Clint Eastwood’s two-part series on the Battle of Iwo Jima. Having already watched Flags of our Fathers (reviewed here), and not being averse to buying a box of Kleenex along with the pop-corn, I felt I had to watch this one. But this movie doesn’t deliver any of the sense of completion, loads of which had been promised. Despite being touted as the “Japanese version” of the same story, it is in every way, an American movie, made for American audiences. [...]
+: etcetera :+ » Letters from Iwo Jima, California / January 8th, 2007, 9:33 pm / #
[...] two-part series on the Battle of Iwo Jima. Having already watched Flags of our Fathers (reviewed here), and not being averse to buying a box of Kleenex along with the pop-corn, I felt I had to watch [...]
Letters from Iwo Jima, California « Dreaming of Zihuatanejo / June 29th, 2007, 12:25 pm / #
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