| Spilt popcorn
Volume 49, No. 4, March 22, 2007
 Flags of our Fathers
Ryan Phillipe, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Slattery.
4 Stars
A PICTURE says a thousand words, and as any military PR person would tell you, can make or break public perception of a conflict.
Flags of our Fathers is the story behind the famous flag raising on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II. The picture is used to sway public opinion on the high casualty rates and raise money for the war effort. The soldiers in the picture try to explain their flag wasn't the first raised that day, just the first photographed. They aren't comfortable with their popularity or being used as pawns to raise money while their corpsmen are still fighting and being killed. It disgusts them that the families of the first flag raisers aren't recognised or remembered.
This film, typical of Clint Eastwood's direction, is unassuming and brilliant. There are no over-the-top US-style heroic battle scenes, just guys getting on with the job. If there's one military film to see this year, this is it.
- Lt Simone Heyer
Flags of our Fathers
Ryan Phillipe, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, Paul Walker, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Slattery.
4 Stars
A PICTURE says a thousand words, and as any military PR person would tell you, can make or break public perception of a conflict.
Flags of our Fathers is the story behind the famous flag raising on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II. The picture is used to sway public opinion on the high casualty rates and raise money for the war effort. The soldiers in the picture try to explain their flag wasn't the first raised that day, just the first photographed. They aren't comfortable with their popularity or being used as pawns to raise money while their corpsmen are still fighting and being killed. It disgusts them that the families of the first flag raisers aren't recognised or remembered.
This film, typical of Clint Eastwood's direction, is unassuming and brilliant. There are no over-the-top US-style heroic battle scenes, just guys getting on with the job. If there's one military film to see this year, this is it.
- Lt Simone Heyer
|
