Letters from Iwo Jima

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Movie
German title Letters from Iwo Jima
Original title Letters from Iwo Jima
Country of production United States
original language Japanese , English
Publishing year 2006
length 141 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
JMK 16
Rod
Director Clint Eastwood
script Iris Yamashita
production Clint Eastwood,
Steven Spielberg ,
Robert Lorenz
music Kyle Eastwood ,
Michael Stevens
camera Tom Stern
cut Joel Cox ,
Gary D. Roach
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
Flags of Our Fathers

Letters from Iwo Jima (German: "Letters from Iwo Jima ," Japanese : 硫黄島からの手紙 , Iojima kara no tegami ) is directed by Clint Eastwood incurred American War of 2006, the events of the Battle of Iwo Jima told from a Japanese perspective. This film is a counterpart to Eastwood's recently released film Flags of Our Fathers , in which this battle is portrayed from the perspective of the US troops involved. Regarding the actors, there is some overlap between the two films, such as the fact that Private Saigo ends up lying on the stretcher next to “Doc” from Flags of Our Fathers.

action

The film begins in the present. A group of Japanese scientists is busy on Iwojima to explore the extensive underground cave system from the time of the Second World War . When they come across an object buried in the ground, the plot changes to 1944.

Japanese soldiers prepare for the anticipated attack by US troops . Trenches are being dug on the beaches. The island's new commander , Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi , arrives in a plane on Iwojima and immediately begins inspecting the defenses. When he happened to see Captain Tanida beating up two soldiers because one of them, Private Saigo, made a defeatist remark about his comrade, he stopped the corporal punishment. Kuribayashi advises Tanida that every man is needed to defend the island.

In contrast to the other high-ranking officers on Iwojima, especially Rear Admiral Osugi and Major General Hayashi, Kuribayashi does not want to fight the enemy on the beach. Since he knows the superior firepower of American warships and bombers, he rather wants to let the enemy advance into the interior of the island and then fire at them from caves, shelters, bunkers and similar hiding places. Kuribayashi must quickly realize that the military leadership withheld essential information from him. So at first the complete annihilation of the United Fleet at the Mariana Islands is kept from him. His subordinates doubt Kuribayashi's strategy and are pursuing their own plans behind his back.

Lieutenant Colonel Takeichi Nishi , a famous Japanese show jumper and womanizer , also arrives on the island . He crossed the island on his horse, followed by the admiring looks of the soldiers. A friendship develops between Nishi and Kuribayashi, they are united by their love for horses. At a dinner you can enjoy a bottle of Johnnie Walker - whiskey .

Kuribayashi was shaped by his work as a Japanese military attaché in the USA . In flashbacks you can see moments from that time, such as the farewell party when he was presented with a valuable pistol, a Colt Government 1911 with a white ivory handle , from fellow American officers . When asked how he would behave in the event of a war between the United States and Japan, Kuribayashi replied that he must unconditionally support his homeland. His stay in the USA also showed Kuribayashi the mentality of the Americans. Unlike other Japanese military personnel, he does not consider them to be primitive, stupid savages.

Meanwhile, the situation is coming to a head in Iwojima. Kuribayashi learns from Tokyo that he cannot count on any support. Food supplies are dwindling, diseases are spreading more and more. Saigo and his comrades continue to work on the final preparations, always harassed by Captain Tanida. Saigo writes letters to his wife Hanako and remembers his job as a baker . Kuribayashi also writes letters home. A new soldier named Shimizu joins the unit. As a former member of the dreaded Kempeitai military police , Saigo and other soldiers initially believe him to be an informant who is supposed to report defeatist statements. However, Saigo later learns that Shimizu was released from the military police a few days later for refusing to order a barking dog to be shot. He was then transferred to Iwojima as a punishment.

The US units reach Iwojima, they step onto the beach and are under fire as planned. A tough battle breaks out and the Japanese are beginning to lose sight. Your water supplies are running out. When their position on the suribachi can no longer be maintained, Captain Tanida and most of his men commit suicide by blowing themselves up with hand grenades against Kuribayashi's express orders to fight their way through . Saigo and Shimizu manage to find their way to the northern half of the island, where Kuribayashi's headquarters are located. When Lieutenant Ito tries to behead the two with his sword because he accuses them of cowardice in front of the enemy, Kuribayashi rescues them. Saigo and Shimizu later try to desert, but only Shimizu can make his way through to a US unit. There he meets another Japanese deserter . When the US unit has to continue the fight, the Japanese are left with two Marines . Because the prisoners are annoying to him, one of the guards shoots the two of them. War crimes on both sides are thus portrayed after an American soldier (Ralph Ignatowski) was stabbed to death by the Japanese, although he was defenseless and captured. In contrast, another American, Sam from Oklahoma, is captured and cared for by Nishi's troops, but dies from his gunshot wound. Nishi himself is also wounded and orders his men to make their way to Kuribayashi. He himself stays behind and appears to commit suicide.

Kuribayashi orders Saigo to burn the remaining papers and letters while he himself goes out for a final battle with other soldiers. For the third time, he gives Saigo the chance to survive. However, instead of destroying it according to orders, Saigo buries a bag with numerous letters. Kuribayashi, on the other hand, who is seriously injured in combat, wants to die honorably; his wish to be beheaded with the sword by his last faithful, a subordinate officer, is prevented. The subordinate is killed by a GI's gunshot from a distance. Kuribayashi is later found by Saigo, still alive. Kuribayashi asks Saigo to bury him so that his body cannot be found. Then he shoots himself with his American pistol. Saigo is later arrested by US soldiers. When he sees Kuribayashi's pistol in a Marine's belt, he gets angry and lashes out with a shovel. He is knocked down, taken to the dock and given medical attention. Maybe he'll survive. Lieutenant Ito, who was armed with mines and tried to throw himself under an American tank, is also captured.

At the end, the film ties in with the opening scene in the present: the scientists recover the object in the cave. It concerns the bag once buried by Saigo with the letters that Japanese soldiers never sent to their families.

Reviews

"The war film conceived by Clint Eastwood as a counterpart to his film" Flags of Our Fathers "shows the other" side of the coin "by showing the battle for the" strategically important "volcanic island exclusively from the perspective of the Japanese. In doing so, he tries according to all the rules of (Hollywood) art to give the "enemy" a face and to make the war appear inhuman. An important film, especially uncomfortable for US viewers. "

- Lexicon of international film

“Clint Eastwood now describes the struggle for Iwojima from a Japanese perspective, reflecting notions of honor and conflicts of authority. Together, the two films are a monumental chronicle of a cruel battle. "

- epd Film , 2/2007, p. 46

backgrounds

The film refers to the fact that hundreds of letters from Japanese soldiers were found there after Iwojima was captured by the US troops.

The film has storylines parallel to Flags of Our Fathers . One example is the attack by an American flamethrower squad . In Flags of Our Fathers he is shown from the outside without seeing the consequences. In Letters from Iwo Jima , the same attack is shown from the point of view of the Japanese in the cave system. The title element of the first film, the flag, can only be seen briefly from afar.

Letters from Iwo Jima was produced by film companies Warner Bros. Pictures , Amblin Entertainment , DreamWorks SKG, and Malpaso Productions .

After its premiere on November 15, 2006, the film was released on December 9, 2006 in Japan. In the United States, the film was first shown on December 20th on a limited scale. This met the requirements to be able to send him into the race for the 2007 Oscar awards.

In the scenes of storming the beach, Eastwood and Stern used an extraordinary stylistic device. They provided ammunition boxes with digital cameras and commissioned some extras to carry them with them during the shoot, without them knowing about the cameras.

The film has a budget of around $ 19 million. It grossed approximately $ 68.7 million in box office revenues worldwide, 80% of which outside of the United States.

Clint Eastwood and part of the actors at a screening of the film at the Berlinale 2007

Before it was released in German cinemas on February 22, 2007, it had its German premiere at the 57th Berlinale .

The film was shot in California , Iceland and on location on Iwojima.

The basis for the German sound track was not the Japanese original sound, but the English text subtitles, which led to incorrect translations. Both Kapitänleutnant Ito and Oberleutnante Fujita and Okubo were demoted to " lieutenants " in the German version , since the correct address for all these ranks in English is "lieutenant". The actual ranks, however, can be recognized by the badges on the collar tabs of the Japanese soldiers.

Publications

  • The DVD was released in Germany on June 22, 2007. As extras, it contains a making of and the US cinema trailer. The DVD is also available in a box set together with Flags of Our Fathers .
  • The Blu-ray edition of the film was released in Germany on August 24, 2007 and contains identical bonus material as the DVD.
  • The HD DVD appeared as the Blu-ray version on 24 August 2007 and is also equipped with the extras of the DVD.

Awards

Web links

Wikiquote: Letters from Iwo Jima  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of release for Letters from Iwo Jima . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2007 (PDF; test number: 109 083 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Letters from Iwo Jima . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ^ Letters from Iwo Jima. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  4. ^ Letters from Iwo Jima. In: Zelluloid.de. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016 ; accessed on September 22, 2018 .
  5. ↑ http://www.kulthit.de/letters-from-iwo-jima.html
  6. ↑ a b http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lettersfromiwojima.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.cinefacts.de/dvd/db/filmdvd.php?id=31119
  8. ↑ http://www.cinefacts.de/blu_ray/db/details.php?id=35011
  9. ↑ http://www.cinefacts.de/hd_dvd/db/details.php?id=35012
  10. ^ Letters from Iwo Jima. In: FBW. Retrieved September 22, 2018 .