Flags of Our Fathers is about the Marines who did and didn’t raise the flag on Iwo Jima. It’s also about how a photo gave the war in the Pacific a face. The photo immortalized and captured the courage, valor and patriotism of America. Flags of Our Fathers shows us the battle that produced a photo which produced three hero’s. There’s nothing better for a war bond drive than living hero’s. After the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi the famous photo spread across the United States News Papers like a wild fire. The photo was taken by Joe Rosenthal and won a Pulitzer Prize. The top brass immediately pulled the three still alive off Iwo Jima. Ira Hayes, John "Doc" Bradley and Rene Gagnon were sent stateside to raise funds for the war effort.
By the time orders were received to pull these Marines out of the meat grinder Sgt. Michael Strank, Cpl. Harlon Block and Pfc. Franklin Sousley had already been killed in action. Any soldier that gets taken from the front lines while the rest stay experiences guilt. These Marines were no different. Ira Hayes had a very difficult time being hailed a war hero while his fellow Marines were being slaughtered on Iwo Jima. He thought the whole thing was Bull Shit and he wasn’t bashful about telling the brass his views either. He knew the hero’s were being killed and he was just a Marine caught in a photo.
Conclusion
~Flags of Our Fathers is a interesting movie with some interesting points. It’s a lot more to this film than the typical futility of war and action scenes. The film really resonates with me. I was medevaced from Iraq to Landstuhl, Germany. I also felt guilt. Almost every soldier wanted to go back and serve with their buddies despite their wounds. These were soldiers and Marines who were wounded. So I would imagine that being pulled from the front lines because you were in a picture would be some serious guilt. In the end Ira Hayes requested to go back to Echo company and he was sent. He wasn’t sent back because of his request, he was sent back because of his drinking. All of these Marines dealt with this conflict of honor in their own way. If you look at these Marines and their lives after the war you’ll come to understand the toll the war took on their lives.
I was expecting a different movie. I was expecting an all out action movie. Although ~Flags of Our Fathers has it’s fair share of brutal action, it’s as much a look at these Marines and their struggles while serving on the War bonds drive. On top of the soft assignment they were dealing with Post Traumatic Stress or shell shock. While fireworks are going off these guys are crawling in their skin. There is also the issue of the first photo and the second photo. Was the whole thing a fraud or were they doing the right thing? Were the right Marines on this soft tour of duty? What their personal thoughts were on these issues didn’t matter. They were active Marines and had to follow orders. They had to deal with their conflict of honor with their mouths shut.
The film does an outstanding job of portraying the issues that these men had to deal with. Each character was developed to an end. The first few minutes of the film is a bit disorientating because of the way the timeline plays out. There is present day, then war bond tour, then flash backs to the first couple of days of the battle of Iwo Jima. So there’s three timelines going in the film. Eastwood pulls this off very well. Most of the film is the battle and the war bond drive. After the first few minutes you get a grasp of the timelines.
The battle scenes are very realistic. The close combat has the dark, nightmarish out of body feeling to them that the actual combat soldiers feel in combat. The battle scenes are fast, graphic, bloody and deadly. The film also goes to great lengths to show us the size of this operation. The scope of the invasion of Iwo Jima is huge and the film gives us a decent idea of that. It’s also very factual. Eastwood is able to create the initial naval and air bombardments, the invasion, parts of the battle and the raising of the flags with good detail and precision. The special effects are second to none. The battle scenes and the scenes depicting the invasion forces are spectacular.
The film is also cast very well. Most of the main characters in Flags of Our Fathers have co-starred in other war films. Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe and Barry Pepper all portrayed their character well. The acting is top notch. I also noticed that Clint Eastwood worked on the score. I thought the score was decent but could have been better. The best thing about Flags of Our Fathers is the story of what really happened. It’s about what two Marines and a Corpsman experience in a brutal battle. It’s about their conscience and conflict of honor after being pulled from the battle. It’s about the Marines that raised the flags of one battle in which our fathers fought. This film is worth seeing on the big screen for it's many special effects and depiction of the scope of the invasion. I would recommend this film to people interested in history, world war II, or Marines. Flags of Our Fathers is much more than a war film. I give this film five of five stars.
The Actual Battle of Iwo Jima
~ Marines who raised the American Flag on Iwo Jima: Echo Company, 28th Regiment, Fifth Marine Division.
~ Many company’s in the Marine fifth Division suffered 75% -85% Casualties
~ The Marine Fifth Division landed with 3,400 Marines. They left with 600 Marines
~ The Japanese suffered over 22,000 Casualties on Iwo Jima.
~ The Americans suffered over 26,000 Casualties on Iwo Jima
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Adam Beach as Ira Hayes (Wind Talkers)
Ryan Phillippe as John "Doc" Bradley
Barry Pepper as Sgt. Mike Strank (Saving Private Ryan)
Jesse Bradford as Rene Gagnon
Neal McDonough as Captain Severance (Band Of Brothers)
Rated [R] for language and very graphic war scenes
Run Time; 2 Hours 12 minutes
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