Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination. Hilarity is nowhere to be found.

Trivia: Although they were filmed back to back, none of the cast from this film appears in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and vice versa. None of the cast members even met each other from each film. Ken Watanabe read actual letters sent by Imperial Japanese Army Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi to his family from Iwo Jima while preparing for his role.

It was a little hard to watch this movie knowing that my grandfather was on that black sandy beach 62 years ago. He was a sailor on a landing craft for the U.S. Navy. He came back, many didn't. But it was also fascinating to see a little bit of what he went through, (he didn't talk about it much), even if it was from Hollywood. It was also interesting that the story was told from the Japanese perspective because it hammers home the message of the film that both sides were the same, human beings with mothers and wives and family. Still, it was difficult for me, I wonder how Grandpa would have felt about it? Nobody was trying to kill me.