Film Review: Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

Clint Eastwood, the rare conservative right-wing voice in Hollywood, is a filmmaker whose political beliefs are often difficult to discern from the content of his films, more often than not looking like those made by his leftist colleagues. This ambiguity is particularly apparent in Flags of Our Fathers, a 2006 war film that stands as one of Eastwood's most ambitious and visually stunning projects.

Based on the bestselling book by Ron Powers and James Bradley, the film delves into the lives of US military servicemen who participated in raising the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. This iconic moment has been immortalised in one of the most recognized photographs in history. One of these men is John Bradley, father of author James Bradley and a US Navy Corpsman portrayed by Ryan Phillippe. At the outset, he is introduced alongside US Marines Rene Gagnon (played by Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (played by Adam Beach), who embark on a promotional tour across America to raise war bonds. Through flashbacks, we witness the grueling and bloody battle for the Japanese island, which lasted over a month and claimed the lives of many of their comrades. Though Bradley, Gagnon, and Hayes survived, they struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and find it increasingly difficult to reconcile their harrowing experiences with the sanitized image used by the US government for propaganda purposes. This burden weighs heavily on Ira Hayes, who grapples not only with alcoholism but also prejudice based on his Native American heritage.

Flags of Our Fathers was made at a particularly challenging time for American war epics, as the bloodshed in Iraq had begun to erode public support for American military adventures. Despite being generally praised by critics, the film tanked at the box office, seemingly misunderstood as another jingoistic propaganda piece akin to Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor. Eastwood's nuanced approach, however, sought to balance honouring the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation with a more cynical perspective on how those sacrifices were exploited for nefarious purposes. The script by William J. Broyles and Paul Haggis contrasts the horrors of war with the sanitized propaganda promoted by the US government. Myth about raising the flag, which is deconstructed in the film, can be interpreted as precursor to some other more, dangerous myths, like those of Weapons of Mass Destruction that led so much misery in the world.

Steven Spielberg served as a producer on the film, helping secure funds to recreate the Battle of Iwo Jima in spectacular fashion using CGI. The script by William J. Broyles and Paul Haggis weaves together multiple storylines, including the battle itself, the post-battle tour to promote war bonds, and modern-day interviews with the surviving soldiers. This non-linear narrative structure occasionally struggles with clarity, as Eastwood jumps between different time periods and colour schemes. However, this stylistic choice also serves to highlight the dissonance between the idealized image of war and the grim reality experienced by these soldiers.

The film's visual style is characterized by a muted palette, with scenes of the battle desaturated to create an almost black-and-white appearance. This aesthetic choice underscores the sense of bleakness and futility that pervades the conflict, as well as the physical and emotional toll it takes on those involved. The cast is solid, but rather unremarkable, with the exception of Adam Beach who pours his heart and soul into the role of Ira Hayes, the most tragic of all flag raisers.

Eastwood made a conscious decision to counter potential accusations of pro-American bias by simultaneously directing Letters from Iwo Jima, which depicted the very same battle from the Japanese perspective. Unlike Flags of Our Fathers, this film was a box-office success. While far from perfect, Flags of Our Fathers remains a good war film that serves as a stark reminder of universal truths behind armed conflicts in our increasingly troubled and dangerous times.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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