Flags Of Our Fathers

Flags of our Fathers depicts a tired America in which resources for the war against Japan are running out. A photograph of a group of soldiers raising the stars and stripes atop Iwo Jima seems like a Godsend. Never mind that, in truth, the battle for the island continued for another thirty five days; never mind tht the incident doesn't depict the first flag to be raised; never mind that the men in the picture were not actually those whose names the press have published to go with it. America needs heroes, and the three survivors associated with the picture are immediately shipped home for endless public appearances aimed at raising money through war bonds. Numbed by the horrors they have seen, desperately missing dead friends, shattered and self-destructive, they are far from what the public imagines. Through their story, Clint Eastwood explores the very nature of the hero archetype, why we seek it and what it means for those who, in the end, would rather just be men.

War films made on such an epic scale usually turn out as triumphs or disasters. Flags of our Fathers isn't one of the great war films, but it is nevertheless an audacious and effective piece of cinema. Though the influence of Spielberg (as producer) can be felt in the sentimental latter half, especially the drawn-out ending, Eastwood's trademark off-kilter approach to structure and narrative development dominates elsewhere and gives the film's ambiguous moral conclusions much more weight. There's solid acting all round, with a powerhouse performance from Adam Beach as Ira, the Native American who, having risked everything for his country, returns to find himself as excluded as ever because of his race. Intercut with the men's experiences are flashbacks to their time on the island, and before, when they were cheerful squaddies with no conception of the Hell they were about to enter. The whole is framed in the story of a dying man, the last of them, re-evaluating what is important in life, leading to a conclusion which many will find surprising.

Although this film carries a 15-certificate, prospective viewers should be aware that it pulls no punches in depicting the brutality of the battle for the island. There are graphic scenes which many people will find distressing. The strongest impression created by the battle scenes, however, if simply one of noise and confusion, with explosions all around, no real idea where the enemy might be coming from, and no choice available but simply to try and stay alive, minute by minute, amidst the chaos. This was clearly too much for some viewers at the screening I attended; unable to identify what was happening, they found themselves switching off, especially in the extended beach invasion scene. It's certainly a gamble on Eastwood's part, drawing things out beyond what viewers will normally put up with, but personally I felt that it worked - he needed to create that feeling of being overwhelmed because that was exactly what happened to the soldiers there at the time. Furthermore, these scenes need to balance out the rest of the film, showing us just how far removed the soldiers are from the world of smart uniforms, smiling girls and cocktails which reaches out to embrace them on American soil.

Flags of our Fathers is a fascinating piece of cinema, its visual impact strengthened by its use of different types of old film stock and lighting techniques to dramatically change the atmosphere between different time periods. The time before the battle is itself distinct, shot in wide, lingering takes, giving an impression of stillness and calm, almost of malaise. The politics behind the war is never discussed; everything is immediate and personal. Ultimately, this is Eastwood's great success; he has made a film not about war but about the men who fight in it; a film not about celebrity but about humanity. Just to make sure we don't forget that it's based on real events, the closing credits feature photographs of the men who were really there, finally given their own names.