Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Monday, October 23, 2006 6:38:09 PM
I'm trying to dash this off before I'm called to the big Hewitt table,
so if I'm less coherent than normal, please indulge me.
Flags of Our Fathers was one of the better
books
of 2000, and one of the most personal. John Bradley tells the story of
his father, "Doc" Bradley, a Navy corpsman who helped raise the flag on
Iwo Jima, and who was part of a photograph that was emblazoned on the
hearts and minds of every American during WWII. His search for an
explanation of why his father never spoke of Iwo Jima or the war made
for fascinating reading.
Clint Eastwood has done a masterful job of translating that story to the screen.
Flags of Our Fathers
is not strictly speaking, a war movie. Although there are many battle
scenes, they are tangential to the main story -- what makes a hero, and
how the media culture can massage and manage reality to serve whatever
purpose it chooses. What the movie makes clear is that the heroes of
Iwo Jima were those who remained on the island, not those who, by
circumstance, found themselves stateside on a goodwill bond tour. And
no one recognized that more than the three survivors of the flag
raising.
If Eastwood isn't nominated for Best Director, if the film is not nominated for Best Picture, and if
Adam Beach
(whose career has apparently survived Windtalkers) is not nominated for
Best Supporting Actor, there's simply no justice. Eastwood directorial
style is perfect for the subject matter, and his mastery of light and
color is apparent in every scene. Beach is wonderful as the one, truly
tragic character in the story, the Native American Ira Hayes
(previously portrayed by -- ta dah! -- Tony Curtis in The Outsider).
The movie is graphic and, at times, grueling, but it is a cinematic
journey well worth taking.