Letters From Iwo Jima

The most American of genres—the World War II movie—used to examine war from the perspective of America's enemies. Filmed entirely in Japanese with Japanese actors, Letters from Iwo Jima proved that Eastwood's understanding of human nature was universal enough to encompass even those traditionally portrayed as inhuman.

We explore how Eastwood created something unprecedented in American cinema—a war film that humanized the enemy without glorifying war, that showed the universal tragedy of conflict without diminishing the specific costs paid by any side. 

Through General Kuribayashi and his doomed garrison, the film examined duty, honor, and the impossible choices faced by good people serving in desperate circumstances.This was Eastwood at seventy-six, using everything he'd learned about war and violence to transcend cultural boundaries and create a truly universal story about human conflict and the costs of survival.

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