October 26, 2006 -- “Flags of Our Fathers” is an exceptional film about war, terrible memories, fame and their effect on soldiers' minds. The film gives both emotional depth to its characters and it provides an incisive political and historical context to the events surrounding an iconic event during World War II. This is not only one of the best films of 2006, but it is one of the best war films in years, nearly as good as “Saving Private Ryan” and “We Were Soldiers.”

“Flags of Our Fathers” tells the story of the men who raised the flag atop Mt. Suribachi on the Island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. That flag raising was captured in an iconic photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal (played in the film by Ned Eisenberg). That photo (here is a link to that famous photo) not only won Joe the Pulitzer Prize, but it became an inspiration for a war-weary nation to finish the fight begun at Pearl Harbor. Only three of the six men who raised that famous flag survived the battle of Iwo Jima, which raged on for a month after the flag raising. This film tells the rest of their story, including some aspects of it that most people don't know about.

Most people probably know that the famous photo was taken not of the first flag planted atop Mt. Suribachi (here is a link to a photo of the first flag raising), but the second, larger flag that replaced the first one. This film explains why the second flag was put up and the first taken down. It also clearly shows that Rosenthal's photo was not staged (here is a link to a site that has video of Rosenthal explaining how he took the photo). That theory was disproven years ago, but it persists. Anyone who knows news photography (I was a news photographer for over 20 years) knows that you can't stage a photo that perfect. As Rosenthal (he died recently) often said, if he had staged it he would have at least gotten the soldier's faces in the picture. The film also shows how the surviving soldiers were exploited by the government to sell war bonds to finance the war. According to the movie the nation was nearly broke when the bond drive was started.

The three survivors, Navy Corpsman John “Doc” Bradley (played by Ryan Phillippe of “Crash”), and U.S. Marines Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford of “Happy Endings”) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach of “Windtalkers”) went on a long bond drive tour of the United States which raised an incredible $23.3 billion in war bonds. They were called “the heroes of Iwo Jima” but none of them liked that label. The movie makes it clear that Ira Hayes wanted no part of his new celebrity status and was relieved when he was sent back into battle. Hayes was haunted by the terrible things he had witnessed in battle, and was the first of the three survivors to die after the war. He died just 10 years after the war, in 1955. His tragic story is summed up well by a song, “The Ballad of Ira Hayes,” written by Peter LaFarge and popularized by the legendary Johnny Cash. Bradley was the most successful of the three in supressing his memories of the war. Though still haunted by nightmares, he went on to become a successful funeral home director and family man. Bradley's son, James, wrote the book on which the film is based. Gagnon tried to cash in on his fame and did appear in the John Wayne movie “Sands of Iwo Jima,” but promises of lucrative business connections all fell through and he ended up working as a janitor for decades. He died of a heart attack at age 54 in 1979.

The structure of the film is similar to that of “Saving Private Ryan” in that it starts out in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story. “Flags of Our Fathers” also uses an additional narrative device, telling stories through a series of interviews with surviving witnesses. The problem with these additional lines of narrative is that the film tends to lose its focus on the men who are supposed to be at the center of the story. The author of the book (Thomas McCarthy plays author James Bradley) creeps into the movie and takes some of the thunder away from the principle characters. Secondary characters being interviewed for the book also dilute and fragment the central story and timeline, although some of these characters are colorful, like Dave Severance (Harve Presnell of “Saving Private Ryan”).

Overall, this is a good, solid film, with top notch production values. Digital effects are used to simulate the immense fleet supporting the landing operation on Iwo Jima. The camerawork and direction are steady. The film is expertly helmed by Oscar-winner Clint Eastwood. The acting is excellent, with top honors going to Native American actor Adam Beach, who gives a lot of depth to his character, Ira Hayes. Actor Barry Pepper, who plays Sgt. Mike Strank in this film, appears in all three of the great war movies mentioned in this article, this one, “Saving Private Ryan” and “We Were Soldiers.” Pepper, a fine actor, seems to be the go-to guy when you need a war movie actor. Presnell, of course, appears both in this film and in “Saving Private Ryan,” where he played General George C. Marshall. Other actors of note in the film are Jamie Bell of “King Kong,” who plays soldier Ralph “Iggy” Ignatowski, Paul Walker of “Eight Below,” who plays soldier Hank Hansen, Robert Patrick of “Firewall,” who plays Colonel Chandler Johnson and Neal McDonough of “The Guardian,” who plays Captain Severance. This film rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics, theater tickets and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2006 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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