Flags of our Fathers

B

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood's adaptation of John Bradley's nonfiction book of the same name is a glossy and heartfelt homage to the men who took Iwo Jima that is unfortunately undone to some extent by a lumbering, ham fisted script delivered by none other than repeat offender Paul Haggis.

"Flags of Our Fathers" follows the 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division as they assault the beaches of Iwo Jima, plant the flag, and eventually capture the island amidst fierce Japanese resistance. The story is told in flashbacks, alternating between the battle and the near future where three of the Marines who planted the flag, Ira Hayes, John Bradley, and Rene Gagnon, go on a nation wide "Heroes" tour to help the US government raise money for the war effort via war bonds. The fates of the other Marines involved in the flag planting are also followed as is the eventual denouement of both the Battle of Iwo Jima and the aftermath of the bond tour and the effect of both events on Hayes, Bradley, and Gagnon.

Part one of Clint Eastwood's double bill focusing on both sides of the Battle of Iwo Jima, part two being "Letters from Iwo Jima," is an effective if somewhat sloppy adaptation of Bradley's book. Eastwood certainly knows how to direct action sequences and the battle scenes are fantastically directed, gritty and authentic with the right doses of violence which allow for realism without wandering into the realm of the gratuitous.
The gritty Clint Eastwood direction is significantly hampered by the Paul Haggis co-written script which is about as lacking in nuance as anything Haggis has written for the big screen. Characters are semi-three dimensional, moral lessons as delivered at a blistering clip, and everyone finds out that even though they were heroes abroad, some of our boys were still not accepted for who they were back home. Hayes is portrayed as the drunken native, misnderstood by the white man and unable to come to grips with the horrors he has witnessed abroad. Gagnon is a fame seeker who wishes to capitalize on his fame in the most vulgar ways possible. Bradley is a stud of epic proportions. No more details beyond these are made available on any of these characters.
As far as I'm concerned, allowing Paul Haggis to work in any capacity on a film is essentially giving it the kiss of death; he has no idea how to tone down the preachiness of his scripts and everything he writes comes off as self indulgent, pseudo intellectual stabs at delivering "serious" film fare that nonetheless panders hopelessly to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science. "Flags of our Fathers" would have been considerably enhanced if Clint had left Haggis on the dock when the crew shipped out to make the movie.
That said, Eastwood's film is still gritty and gory yet beautiful to look at, the black and white photography of Tom Stern a perfect compliment to the rugged, naked landscape of Eastwood's Iwo Jima. The battle scenes don't really depart from the "Saving Private/Band of Brothers" mold which gives the viewer a distinct impression of cinematic déja vu but that doesn't mean Eastwood's film isn't gorgeous to look at. The film's most important accomplishment, however, is to once again capture the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation and commend the actions of those who served during the War. The fact that the Greatest Generation gave birth to probably the worst generation who then gave way (not without kicking and screeming) to my own generation which, although a slight improvement is still far from great, just goes to show that those who fought and died in World War II were from a bygone era and made scrifices that most of us wouldn't even dream of making today.