Flags of our Fathers

Rating: R15 - Depicts Graphic & Realistic War Scenes.
Duration: 132 mins.
Genre: War.
Actors: Jesse Bradford, Paul Walker, Ryan Phillippe, Neal McDonough, Jamie Bell, Robert Patrick, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery.
Director: Clint Eastwood.
Release Date: Available Now.

Synopsis
Based on the book of the same name, Flags of our Fathers reconstructs the events that preceded and followed the infamous photograph taken on Iwo Jima that came to symbolize the U.S. troops' triumph and America's indestructible spirit.

The Reality
Flags of our Fathers is an interesting movie. Interesting as it does not sit happily in the standard war movie genre. In an approach that almost causes too much confusion for it’s own good, the story is told through a series of multi-level flash backs, from the training, to the assault on Iwo Jima, through the Seventh War Bond Tour right too the present day.

It’s certainly more of a movie for history buffs than straight out war movie fans, as a lot of the focus is on three individuals who are basically forced to become heroes and tour the US selling War Bonds.

We get to see just how these three men became the focus of the whole country, and how the war, combined with this instant hero-dom, along with their own value systems, plagued each of them in different ways.

The movie shows how a culture celebrates the heroes (living) whilst not wanting anything to do with those that payed the ultimate price.

By the end of the movie, the confusing layers of flashbacks have all but been forgotten as we have gotten used to the technique and realise their necessity. We are left now to dwell on the events that took place, and reflect on their meaning in the fresh light of what we have seen.

Visually Flags is spectacular, far better than Saving Private Ryan, and just as gruesomely realistic, whilst being desolate and uninspiring at the same time – though only because the landscape of Iwo Jima was desolate and moonscape like.

As a complete package, it has its flaws, but despite it’s very different approach, will sit amongst the top ten war movies of all time.

Food for thought
Do you fight for your life or for the truth?

Special Features (not reviewed)
• An Introduction by Clint Eastwood
• Words on the Page - Clint Eastwood along with screenwriters Paul Haggis, William Broyles and writer James Bradley discuss the creation of the book and the adaptation of the script, along with the challenges and victories each possessed.
• Six Brave Men - Clint Eastwood and the key cast members introduce us to the real- life characters portrayed in the film; including their roles in the historic events and their relationships to one another.
• The Making of an Epic - Led by Clint Eastwood, we take an inside look at the creation of the film with many of the key players involve d, including the production design with Henry Bumstead; the photography with Tom Stern; editorial with Joel Cox; and the rest of the team that brought this epic film together.
• Raising the Flag - Clint Eastwood and key cast members discuss reenacting the historic flag-raising on Iwo Jima.
• Visual Effects - The visual effects team (including visual effects supervisor Michael Owens, and Julian Levi and Mathew Butler of Digital Domain) discusses the approach and creation of the “invisible” digital effects in the film, including before and after examples, as well as the various steps taken to realize them.
• Looking into the Past - A documentary, real- life look at the battle, the two flag raisings at Iwo Jima and the resulting bond tour, using historical footage and newsreels.
• Theatrical Trailer