Movies: Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood is currently experiencing more success as a director than he ever did as "The Man With No Name" or "Dirty Harry." I must admit, though, that after watching "Letters from Iwo Jima," I wondered whether it really deserved the best picture nomination.

"Letters" tells the story of the harrowing Battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective - it's the counterpart to "Flags of Our Fathers." Like any modern war movie, war is portrayed as a horrific, ugly thing, which is probably for the best in this case. The various Japanese soldiers are alternately pathetic and horrifying, with the most touching moment of the movie coming after they treat a wounded American prisoner. In real life, of course, the invasion of Iwo Jima was incredibly costly for both sides and in the end was of somewhat dubious necessity.

While the movie looks and sounds great, and the performances and story are fairly good, in the end, the movie is missing something. Eastwood leans heavily on the twin crutches of flashback and voiceover, which is always a sign something is rotten in Denmark. I wish I could put my figure on what "Letters" lacks, but it might be one of those things you have to see for yourself.

7/10