thedrifter
12-23-06, 04:35 PM
HALF MAST
hg.editorial@archant.co.uk
23 December 2006
Flags Of Our Fathers (15)
CLINT Eastwood has come up with a novel idea to keep cinema-goers hooked.
Make a film about the Second World War and then present it from both sides - the American version of events coming out first and the Japanese point of view following a few months later.
The central premise of Flags of Our Fathers is based on the true story behind possibly the most reproduced photography in living history - that of the raising of an American flag by some marines during a battle on the tiny Japanese island of Iwo Jima.
This seemingly inconsequential act catapults the servicemen to fame in their home country, where the picture makes every front page and succeeds in revitalising what had - up until then - been a flagging war effort.
As the surviving marines are brought back to embark on a tour to encourage Americans to snap up war bonds, their experiences are interspaced with bloody memories of the battle they left behind.
Like Saving Private Ryan, this spares the audience little, bombarding them with shots of dismembered limbs, heads even, and guts spilling out of bodies.
Is this what it means to share anti-war sentiments? The refusal to shy away from its horrific consequences?
It's hard to tell as the unrelenting violence and the film's unwillingness to let any opportunity go by to show it seems almost gratuitous.
Character development is sacrificed to action sequences and scant attention is paid to exploring the marines' backgrounds, or how their lives are affected by their sudden rise to fame, except in the case of Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), a Native American, who turns to drink.
Still, even though Flag Of Our Fathers doesn't quite come up to scratch, Eastwood has at least guaranteed an audience for his next film.
Ellie
hg.editorial@archant.co.uk
23 December 2006
Flags Of Our Fathers (15)
CLINT Eastwood has come up with a novel idea to keep cinema-goers hooked.
Make a film about the Second World War and then present it from both sides - the American version of events coming out first and the Japanese point of view following a few months later.
The central premise of Flags of Our Fathers is based on the true story behind possibly the most reproduced photography in living history - that of the raising of an American flag by some marines during a battle on the tiny Japanese island of Iwo Jima.
This seemingly inconsequential act catapults the servicemen to fame in their home country, where the picture makes every front page and succeeds in revitalising what had - up until then - been a flagging war effort.
As the surviving marines are brought back to embark on a tour to encourage Americans to snap up war bonds, their experiences are interspaced with bloody memories of the battle they left behind.
Like Saving Private Ryan, this spares the audience little, bombarding them with shots of dismembered limbs, heads even, and guts spilling out of bodies.
Is this what it means to share anti-war sentiments? The refusal to shy away from its horrific consequences?
It's hard to tell as the unrelenting violence and the film's unwillingness to let any opportunity go by to show it seems almost gratuitous.
Character development is sacrificed to action sequences and scant attention is paid to exploring the marines' backgrounds, or how their lives are affected by their sudden rise to fame, except in the case of Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), a Native American, who turns to drink.
Still, even though Flag Of Our Fathers doesn't quite come up to scratch, Eastwood has at least guaranteed an audience for his next film.
Ellie