Flag of our Fathers

Clint Eastwood seems to be hitting his stride as a director as he nears the age of dirt. A few years back he gave us a brilliant movie entitled Mystic River then he gave us the lesser,but still brilliantly directed, Million Dollar Baby, and now he hits us with the instant war classic Flag of our Fathers. I am not sure how the same man responsible for Blood Work turned into one of the most consistent directors, but I am not complaining. Working from a non fiction source material of the same name, Clint creates a giant film that feels like a small film. The battle scenes are grandiose, yet intimate as we follow 3 specific soldiers during and after the war. Clint's able hand and mind weave through 3 or 4 different time periods, yet never get his audience confused.


The film stars Ryan "I am not just a pretty face" Phillipe, Jesse "Hopefully this will be my break out role" Bradford and Adam "I do enough crying to win an Oscar" Beach as the 3 surviving soldiers from the famous flag raising picture from Iwo Jima. The film takes place during the big battle, before the big battle, after the big battle and after the war. Phillipe is the central heart of the film, in my opinion. His eyes kind of narrate the story to us and we mostly see things as he sees them as a naval doctor trying to keep injured soldiers alive. Before I saw this movie I was a doubter of his abilities but he made me a believer. He plays the role quietly and doesn't get any big "Oscar" moments but in my opinion everything he does here is good enough to be noticed by critics. Bradford seems completely at ease as a cocky, fame hungry soldier. The only one of the three who seems to revel in the limelight they are thrown into after leaving the war. As a native American dealing with constant racism Beach is impeccable. His character goes through the worst transition, dealing with alcoholism and a lack of respect as a Native American.


The journey we are taken on sometimes seems repetitive, but it works because it allows us to see just how badly our government exploited these "war heroes" or how badly we, as a country, need things to show us, we aren't bad. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, and this movie is about possibly the most famous picture of all. Here, though, we see the picture for what it really was and not the symbol we were told to believe it was. People died before, during and after this flag raising and our 3 central characters make sure no one forgets the real war heroes were the ones who didn't come home.