Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Flags of Our Fathers is the companion picture to director Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers presents an American perspective on the Battle of Iwo Jima while Letters from Iwo Jima tells some of the same events from the perspective of the Japanese in the battle. (Yes, Letters from Iwo Jima is the superior film and deserved its nomination for Best Picture; it stretched Eastwood’s talents as a director more than this film does.) The film follows three of the men credited with raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi after an American victory. Much of the film occurs in flashbacks; the present-day narrative follows the three as they are exploited by the government on a bond tour, used rather shamelessly to raise money for the military. Each of the men is give very quick, broad strokes of characterization. Marine Private First Class (PFC) Ira Hayes (played with great reserve by Adam Beach) is a Native American who, despite being a war hero, is refused service in a bar, and even military officers who know of his accomplishments refuse to shake his hand. Hayes’ mistreatment as a result of racism deserves a movie of its own, so powerful are these moments in the film. His story resonates long after the film ends. PFC Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) is the most popular of the three because he always seems willing to play along with whatever crazy scheme the government officials come up with for the three men. He’s also a bit of a flirt, but when his girlfriend (Melanie Lynskey) wants her own time in the spotlight, their marriage becomes another part of the tour. Sadly, his popularity doesn’t last beyond the war as he can’t find a job despite being offered lots of opportunities during the way (“come and see me…”). The third man, Navy Corpsman John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), gets less of a story than his son does and certainly less than the other two men. Much of the flashbacks related to Doc involve his guilt over the death of his friend Iggy (Jamie Bell). Given that Doc didn’t discuss the war much—he disliked being called a “hero”—his son has to interview several people to find out more about his father. Flags of Our Fathers is particularly effective at depicting the battle scenes that are shown in flashback. The film also addresses some of the controversies associated with the flag raising. The famous photograph was actually taken of a second flag raising; the Secretary of the Navy asked for the flag from the first raising but Col. Chandler Johnson (Robert Patrick) feels his battalion deserves it more. This does, however, complicate giving credit to the correct service members. One of the men in the photo is misidentified, leading to some painful moments with the mothers of those who were killed in action. Judith Ivey plays the mother one of the men who raised the flag but didn’t get proper credit initially; she makes the most of her few seconds on screen, and her ability to recognize her son by looking at his butt in the reproduction of the photograph in her local paper is priceless. Flags of Our Fathers is often most effective in its smaller moments, such as when Hayes, Gagnon, and Bradley are served a dessert in the shape of the flag raising, only to have the servers pour a sauce the color of blood over it. There’s also a papier-mâché version of the mountain that they’re asked to climb as part of one bond rally. It’s quite emotional to see just how demeaning were some of the activities the military asked them to complete. The closing credits for the film feature a series of photographs from that famous day, including some of the images of the first flag being raised. An interesting side note: Flags of Our Fathers lost to its companion film (Letters from Iwo Jima, in case you’ve already forgotten) in the Category of Best Achievement in Sound Editing.

Oscar Nominations: Best Achievement in Sound Mixing and Best Achievement in Sound Editing