A Movie Review

So last Friday night Jana and I went to the movie theater to see Flags of our Fathers. We were going to see The Departed but we didn't want to leave out Katy or Annie, so we had to go with something else and there just isn't that much else out right now besides lame Halloween-type horror movies...and no thanks to that! My sister couldn't believe Jana would go see this movie and told me "you need to find a nerdy date who will go with you to see those history movies." Or something along those lines. So I was pumped Jana didn't mind going! :)
Ok, so on to the review. Flags of our Fathers tells the story of the men who were pictured raising the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima during World War II in Japan. Obviously this is a famous picture and the film delves into the mockery of the truth of the picture by the US government in an attempt to get more Americans to buy war bonds. (the men actually raised the flag twice--different men each time--and it was raised on day 5 of 35 days fighting at Iwo Jima)
The film completely captures the sounds and deplorable/disgusting sights of war. (think guts, entrails, decapitations) That is the part that is so unsettling about today's war movies. Modern technology has the ability to show us at least the director's version of the truth of an actual battle. We can experience some feeling of terror and anger that the real soldiers may have felt (hear bullets whizzing by, see a fellow soldier's arm get blown away). I left the theater thinking I couldn't believe that people really were there, that soldiers really deal/dealt with those kind of circumstances. It's INCREDIBLE what armies do, what soldiers witness. I don't know how they ever function normally again.
Opps, I started rambling. Back to the review...The movie describes the national mood of the 1940s--the government running out of funds for the war effort and trying to do anything possible to raise $$ quickly--including lying and distorting the truth behind a picture that grabbed the nation's hearts and attention. (hmm notice how timely? might as well have taken place in 2006!) Clint Eastwood, the director, I think tries to show war as propoganda and how the government exploits soldiers and their experiences for political gain and to make money.
All in all, I liked it. Flags of our Fathers made me think. I am willing to bet it will be a contender come awards season. I'm glad there wasn't a chick flick out right now, because I'm guessing Jana and I would have vetoed the historical war movie and we might have missed out on a great film:) So go see it already!