MovieMantz Reviews: ‘Flags Of Our Fathers’ (October 18, 2006)

A High Flying ‘Flag’

by Scott Mantz

?Flags of Our Fathers?
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach
Directed by: Clint Eastwood

It may sound cliché to say, but it’s true: Two-time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood isn’t getting older — he’s getting better. That would certainly explain why the 76-year-old Hollywood legend has been on something of a roll lately, thanks to modern classics like 2003’s haunting “Mystic River” and 2004’s tragic “Million Dollar Baby,” the latter of which won 4 Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director).

That roll continues with the incredibly powerful “Flags of Our Fathers,” his most visually and structurally complex and ambitious film since his directorial debut with 1971’s “Play Misty for Me.” Fascinating, enlightening and deeply moving, Eastwood’s spectacular big screen adaptation of the best-selling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers is not only the year’s best movie, but it’s also one of the finest war movies ever made.

If the image depicted in a single picture can be powerful enough to win a war, then it’s a foregone conclusion that “Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima” did just that for World War II. Taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal (who passed away last August at the age of 94), the instantly recognizable photo — probably the most famous war picture in U.S. history — depicts five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima’s battle-ravaged Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945.

Lasting more than a month, the conflict was one of the most vicious in all of World War II — 6,821 American soldiers were killed, while 20,000 more were wounded. It was a bloody battle that might have turned the American public against the war, had it not been for the patriotic impact of that powerful photo, which was prominently splashed across the front page of every major newspaper in the country just five days after the combat started.

Though the faces of the flag-raisers were largely obscured, the photograph still made them instant heroes. Within a few weeks though, half the men in it were dead, while the remaining three — John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) — were hastily returned home in an effort to boost morale and help raise money for the war effort during the government’s Seventh War Bond Tour. But the flag-raisers had a hard time adjusting to their newfound fame, and with controversy swirling that the photo was actually staged, they had no idea that they would soon become casualties of war with far more emotional, psychological and tragic consequences.

Eloquently adapted for the big screen by William Broyles, Jr. (“Apollo 13”) and Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” screenwriter Paul Haggis (whose own film, “Crash,” won the Oscar for Best Picture last year), “Flags of Our Fathers” is bound to invite comparisons to 1997’s “Saving Private Ryan.” Both movies depict their defining battles with realistically gruesome carnage, and both are filmed with washed-out, sepia-toned colors and cinematography. In addition, Steven Spielberg, who directed “Ryan,” co-produced “Flags” and leaves his imprint in the form of a sentimental ending that’s similar to his own movie.

But “Flags of Our Fathers” is a more challenging film — and as a result, it can be harder to follow. Where Eastwood is best known for taking a straightforward approach to storytelling, “Flags” is much more non-linear, crosscutting between reflections from present day survivors, the immediate aftermath of the photo and, of course, the actual conflict at Iwo Jima. “Flags” also has more to say regarding celebrity worship and the government’s manipulative campaign to support the war (relevant, given the current conflict in Iraq), and moviegoers who thought they’d seen it all in the devastating first 20 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” will be impressed by the spectacular visual scope on display here.

Where the cast is concerned, Eastwood couldn’t have picked a better team to play the flag-raising band of brothers. Ryan Phillippe gives his best performance to date as the Navy Corpsman going through the motions during the Bond Tour, while Jesse Bradford is also strong as the Marine who seems to be loving every minute of his newfound (albeit temporary) fame. But Adam Beach, who previously appeared in 2002’s World War II-set “Windtalkers,” is the true soul of the movie, giving a powerful breakthrough performance as Ira Hayes, the Native American whose paralyzing guilt led to his alcohol-fueled downfall soon after the photo was taken. (And for the record, his story has been told before on film — in 1961’s “The Outsider,” starring, of all people, Tony Curtis.)

It’s worth noting that while the flag-raisers were being exploited to the point of utter humiliation, it’s a shame that they couldn’t appreciate true value of what they were doing. With the U.S. Military in dire financial straits by 1945, it wouldn’t have been long before they simply could not have afforded to continue fighting the war. By appealing to Americans to buy War Bonds, the government got the funding it needed, which in a sense made the flag-raisers help win the toughest battle of them all.

As hard as it is to believe, the $90 million-budgeted “Flags of Our Fathers” is actually the first of two films about the battle of Iwo Jima. The second, titled “Letters from Iwo Jima,” is budgeted closer to $20 million and will tell the story from the Japanese point of view. And amazingly, that film, which is due for release next February, is also directed by Eastwood, who continues to challenge himself with high quality material and bravura filmmaking at an age when other Hollywood legends would be forgiven for resting on their laurels.

And that’s just another reason why Clint Eastwood isn’t getting older — he’s getting better.

VERDICT: SEE IT!