Eastwood film depicts Iwo Jima

“Flags of Our Fathers” debuted this past weekend with a disappointing third place in the box office. However, it is still expected to do well in hopes that it will generate some Oscar nominations. Clint Eastwood directed the war film after coming off two huge successes with “Mystic River” and last year’s “Million Dollar Baby.” Although it is too early to tell, “Flags of Our Fathers” seems to be an overall critical success as well.

The film is based on the best-selling book by James Bradley, who chronicles the experience of his father, John “Doc” Bradley, in the battle of Iwo Jima and the legendary flag raising. It took him out of battle and on to a public relations campaign in support for the war. The picture of Bradley and several others raising the flag on the sands of Iwo Jima is one of the most famous pictures in American history.

Bradley is played by Ryan Phillipe (who is trying to move past the “I Know What You Did Last Summer” crowd). The fan also stars Jesse Bradford (”Swimfan” and “Bring It On”) and Ira Hayes, who gives the best performance as an Indian-American who can never cope with the war or being considered a hero.

The film has three story lines. The first is James Bradley writing his father’s story. The second is the PR campaign that the three soldiers endure after the picture is taken, and the third is the Battle of Iwo Jima itself. It is the latter that delivers all the excitement.

The war scenes are exciting, gruesome and realistic. Most of the battle stirs up memories of “Saving Private Ryan,” which was known for its gritty realization of war. Eastwood opted for the effects and violence as opposed to character depth. Phillipe is the lead in the movie, but I fail to remember one word he said.

As most war movies go, there is not a single woman in the movie with a decent role or line of dialogue. They just sit at home and cry and wait. However, the film excellently points out many of the tragedies and true-to-life moments of wartime.

All the soldiers in the film are young and symbolic of the people who fight the war. Bradley worked at a funeral home, one of them worked in the Texas oil fields, another was in high school trying to get a football scholarship to go to college and another was a factory worker and a field hand and so on. Most of them did not go to college; they were just public school kids trying to make ends meet. The Harvard business alums managed to make it out of the war, as one character hastily explains. The film also makes all the politicians look awful, and none of them seem to care or have sympathy for anyone but themselves. Eastwood was adamant about pointing out that the ones who fight the wars are not the politicians, but the average, hard-working American — the real hero.

The film is moving and sad in some scenes. One of the sympathetic targets are the mothers whose sons were killed in the war, who stir up some emotional scenes.

The main focus of the film is on its heroes, and the movie asks, “What is a hero?” As Doc Bradley explains in the movie, the greatest thing he ever did was not raising the flag in Iwo Jima or fighting in the war, but being a husband and father raising his children well. The term “hero” is just a term people made up because they needed to.

Also, the credits offer a little something extra. There are pictures of the real men who fought in Iwo Jima, real battle scene pictures and Eastwood’s maudlin music score. This is not one to miss.

Grade: A-