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Movie Review:
Flags of Our Fathers

Production Company : DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)
Director : Clint Eastwood
Cast : Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, John Benjamin Hickey
Rating : R for violence and language.

By Gregg Tubbs

(UMC.org)—You’ve heard the old adage, “every picture tells a story.” Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of a picture—perhaps the picture of World War II—the inspiring and iconic flag raising on Iwo Jima. This stirring picture held the power to bolster public support for an increasingly difficult war and made instant heroes of the men who raised it. But the real story—the story of the men in the picture—is far more complex. In his unflinching but deeply compassionate film, director Clint Eastwood explores the making of a myth, the brutal essence of war and the very concept of heroism. Flags of Our Fathers plunges us deep into the heart of battle, but even deeper into the heart of humanity.


Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of a picture—perhaps the picture of World War II—the inspiring and iconic flag raising on Iwo Jima. Copyright © 2006 DreamWorks Pictures.
Although ostensibly a film about the battle of Iwo Jima, the battle itself functions as the subtext of the main story and is visited in harrowing, haunting flashbacks throughout the film. The real drama surrounds the famous photo—how it affected the men in captured in it, their families, the country and the course of the war. The picture vividly depicts five Marines and one Navy medical corpsman raising a U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi, the highest point and critical Japanese stronghold on the tiny island. Because none of the soldiers’ faces are identifiable in the shot, the photo becomes emblematic of all men fighting in WW II.

The U.S. War Department believed that taking Iwo Jima could be the tipping point of the Pacific campaign, establishing U.S. troops on “sacred” Japanese soil. However, the country was weary of the war and of the cost of financing it. The all-important War Bond sales had dried up, and the War Department saw in this stirring photo and the three surviving flag raisers—dubbed “the heroes of Iwo Jima”—the chance to unite the nation behind one last War Bond drive.

Myth and reality intersect in the publicity surrounding these events, and lines between them become blurred. The famous photo does not depict the first flag, raised in the heat of battle (as it seems to appear), but instead a second flag raised later by a different group of men. Additionally, only three men in the photo have survived the grueling month-long battle, and the survivors—Doc Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach)—can’t agree on the identity of the other three men in the photo. Yet, none of these inconsistencies stops the War Department from packaging, grooming, parading and feting these “heroes” across the country to raise money for the war. Their promotional tour becomes pure spectacle and entirely phony—an increasingly hollow charade that seems to mock the real heroes who sacrificed all.

 
Doc Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach)—the three men in the famous photo who survived the battle of Iwo Jima—are packaged, groomed and paraded across the country to raise money for the war. Copyright © 2006 DreamWorks Pictures.
In the film, Eastwood lays bare the complex nature of heroism, exploring how society needs heroes, how expedient myth often supplants messier fact, and how hero worship changes the heroes themselves. All three men—each in his own way—suffered from being exploited for the war effort. They did not believe they deserved to be worshiped as heroes—not because they weren’t as heroic as the other men or hadn’t risked as much, but because they did not want to be honored for “lifting a pole” when others made the ultimate sacrifice. The three understood that true heroism has more to do with self-sacrifice than self-promotion.
Flags of Our Fathers forces us to reconsider our definition of a hero. Must a hero look the part like the handsome, but shallow, Gagnon? Or can we accept an unlikely hero who defies our expectations like Hayes, the stormy and troubled Pima Indian, who felt unworthy of the label “hero” and only wanted to rejoin his unit in battle? Can a hero be kind, quiet and modest like Doc, the medic, who struggled to save lives rather than take them? We would do well to remember that God raised up heroes from such unlikely candidates as Moses who was “slow of speech” and suffered self-doubt, and David, the young shepherd, who faced a giant with only a sling. Even Jesus defied Israel’s expectations of a conquering Messiah, coming instead as a meek servant and teacher who preached peace and forgiveness.

Throughout the film, director Eastwood condemns the politics of war and the exploitation of those who serve, but has the deepest reverence for those who risk their lives for their country. He also reminds us repeatedly that death is the only common denominator in war—despite all the valor, loyalty, sweat and patriotism—and that it is indiscriminate and ugly. Since hitting his directorial stride with his deglamorized western Unforgiven, the 76-year-old Eastwood is hitting harder than ever. Rather than using the bullets and fists of his younger days, he’s now landing stunning blows of wisdom and truth.

Gregg Tubbs is a freelance writer living in Columbia, Md.

This review was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church

Group Study Guide

Study Questions

  • As an old man, Doc is haunted by a voice calling “Corpsman!” Why do you think he hears the voice? What do you think it means?
  • Is the exploitation of soldiers for political or other reasons is morally wrong? If so, why? Should fallen soldiers be used to promote a war? Do you think this is still happening today?
  • Why would the three soldiers resist being called heroes? Have you ever felt unduly praised?
  • Should facts ever be sacrificed for a bigger purpose? Why or why not? What if doing so saves lives?
  • Each of the three men reacted differently to being promoted as a “hero.” With which character did you most relate?
  • Why do you think Hayes suffered so? What impact did racism have on his refusal to call himself a hero?
  • Early in the film, Doc dives into a foxhole to help a fallen American soldier and is forced to stab a Japanese soldier. Both die. What do you think is the message of that scene? What does it say about the nature of war?
  • How do you define a hero? Is heroism unique to the military or are there heroes in all walks of life? Name some contemporary heroes and tell why you consider them heroic.
  • Identify some biblical heroes. What characteristics define him or her as heroic (strength, faith, love, etc.)?
  • The narrator says, “Heroes are something we create to help us understand how someone could sacrifice so much for others.” Do you agree? What role does sacrifice play in acts of heroism? (See John 15:13.)

Resources
Official Flags of Our Fathers Web site

Theatrical Trailer
QuickTime