Iwo Jima and Yamato

My last day of exams and I reached home wondering what I should do for the evening.

So, I settled down to watch Letters from Iwo Jima directed by Clint Eastwood. I found the film to be touching as it really shows how wars can affect human lives. It cuts through the usual protrayal of the enemy as the cruel and unjust people they are.

I was glad that the unseen angle of humanity in war films was so well-protrayed here. Truly seen in the eyes of the human and not the enemy. We could learn to "try to do the right thing because it is right". This was written in a letters by one of the mothers of American marine caught by the Japanese soldiers.

After the film I did some research in Wikipedia on The battle of Iwo Jima, and found that more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers died in Iwo Jima, with the remaining last 2 surrendering only about 4-5 years after battle ended in 1945. It is really amazing that these guys could actually continue to hide in the caves.

Of course, there is the earlier film similarly directed by Clint Eastwood; The Flag of our Fathers... which I did watch too. Similar tale of soldiers, but this time on the American side and how they suffered following their return to the United States.

Another Japanese made movie Yamato also showed the real humanity and I could feel emotional intensity when the sailors had to leave their families to go on their final mission.....

Wars are destructive and brings loss to families of the victims, soldiers, sailors and civilians alike...