Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima [Blu-ray]
$34.99
"Damn this island! The Americans can have it!", exclaims Saigo, the baker-turned reluctant Jap soldier, as he digs into a beach trench in the opening scene.

I'm a pacifist. I don't like war movies with senseless violence. I wanted to give this movie 1 star before I even watched it, but somehow, I find myself giving this 5 stars because of the human face it portrays behind all those solider-victims who were drafted and sent off to die by war-mongering politicians and their high military command. This movie reminded me of Emma Goldman's essay on "patriotism" which exposes the lies that the military-industrial complex in society wants us to mold all male behavior into. I don't admire any war or military force from any country. They're all puppets of politicians. You can see some of these structures being played out in this movie. The most lowly soldier doesn't have a say in anything except to obey reluctantly - all in the name of his freaking "country".

This movie tells a war story from the eyes of the Jap solider, two in particular - the youthful and low-ranking Saigo and the highest ranking Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi.

The war to defend the island of Iwo Jima was doomed from the start. Without Jap Imperial air and naval support or ground reinforcements, the island couldn't be defended effectively. Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and the other Jap commanders are soon made aware of this fact, but had to stand ground and couldn't retreat because Tokyo HQ didn't want them to. That evil merciless Emperor! So, here we are viewing and listening to the inner thoughts of the Jap soldiers as they do what they were told to do, will all, save for lucky Saigo, end up dying by the end of the movie.

The opening scene starts off with Saigo digging a beach trench and venting his frustrations at the war. Unbeknowest to him, his "unpatriotic" comments were overhead by both his buddy and his strict, "patrotic" captain who took offense at insults to the Imperial Army. Saigo and his buddy were both beaten with a stick by the captain. Scene 2 shows Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe of "The Last Samurai") arriving on a plane onto the island of Iwo Jima and briefed by one of the island's commanders. He chances upon Saigo being beaten at the beach, halts the punishment and immediately tells the beach defenders to quit digging beach trenches and to move inland. This encounter with lowly Saigo is to be the first of several throughout the movie as we track Saigo's "lucky streaks" with death and war, right to his final encounter with the General in the final scene where he was ordered to bury the dead General, before Saigo ends up getting whacked unconscious by an invading American soldier.

To be continued.....


Recommended reading:

Anarchism and other essays

The Lions of Iwo Jima (John MacRae Books)
$17.00
although it starts a tad slow for me, since I have read six other books on this terrible fight. While I knew the background well, when Fred gets to the combat situations he knew intimately, his memoir comes alive. His view on the assault against Suribachi is more vividly detailed than other accounts. His recounting of the hellish days and weeks after the flag-raising, until the island was cleared of significant resistance more than five weeks after the Marines landed, is again, more finely described than other accounts. I also love "Flags of Our Fathers" and have read that one three times in nine years. "Legacy of Valor" and "The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945" are also worthy. I don't know if I have the heart to read "The Lions of Iwo Jima" again, because there is a lot of sadness to the story of this conquest. However, I suggest any readers interested in Iwo might start with Fred's book and then read "Flags." Every book about the island is different, due to the battle's size, length, complexity and hundreds of episodes of individual and unit heroism.

American Flag at Iwo Jima Poster Print, 24x36
$10.00
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Iwo Jima: 36 Days of Hell
$9.98
For the past decade, ever since James Bradley wrote "Flags of Our Fathers" the Iwo Jima fight has been the subject of films, other books and compilations of old and new documentary footage. I found this item in a bargain bin at a big-box store for half the price listed here, but I would have paid double for it. The 30,000 Marines who assaulted the island, backed up by perhaps 10,000 Navy and air personnel, trained for a year without knowing exactly where they were heading. The chosen target island was expected to fall inside of a week, but it took 36 days of brutal and unique combat to get the job done. World War II was too large, complex and lengthy to be understood by studying one battle that took one month in one spot, but the courage of the soldiers, sailors, pilots and Marines throughout the war CAN be comprehended by a study of the sacrifices made on Iwo Jima. Within a few years, there will be no more combat veterans left from that war---pretty much, anyone born after 1929 is too young to have gone to it at all, in any capacity. If the subject interests you, this item is well worth owning. I have also read at least six books on Iwo Jima, and each has a different enough look at what went on to be worth reading, and to have little duplication with other accounts. There is a reason that the U.S. Marine Memorial is a sculpture of the famous photo of the second flag-raising on the highest point of Iwo Jima, and this DVD set will demonstrate that fact. Even people who honor that image often do not realize that there were 30 more days of blood and bravery to come for those guys after that moment.