Letters from Iwo Jima

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

Eastwood's Japanese-language companion to Flags of Our Fathers landed as one of the most celebrated American films of 2006, earning a string of best-picture citations from major critics' groups and topping dozens of year-end lists. Critics singled out its willingness to portray the Japanese soldiers as fully human — not foils or abstractions — and praised the casting of native Japanese actors as essential to that honesty. James Berardinelli's three-star review offered the closest thing to a dissent in mainstream coverage, acknowledging the film as more focused and effective than its companion piece while still noting that both films carry imperfections.