Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima (2007) starring Ken Watanabe and a large cast of Japanese actors who will be unfamiliar to American viewers. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Excellent companion piece to Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," this Oscar-nominated movie tells the story of the World War II battle for Iwo Jima from the Japanese point of view. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Japanese defenders of the island do not think of surrender, but of dying honorably -- even if this means suicide in the face of defeat. Eastwood does a good job of humanizing our former enemies, and even shows American soldiers being brutal in one memorable scene. Grade: A-