| Clint Eastwood's latest film FLAGS OF OUR | | | | with time periods jumping all over the place. It is very |
| FATHERS is no MYSTIC RIVER or MILLION DOLLAR | | | | fragmented but it also represents and allows us to |
| BABY but it is definitely a story that would not be | | | | look into the minds of the soldiers whose past haunts |
| typical of Hollywood. The story surrounds the three | | | | them even long after the war is over. |
| living soldiers (of six) who helped raise the American | | | | Ryan Phillippe is very strong as John "Doc" Bradley in |
| flag atop the mountain of Iwo Jima that helped change | | | | the film but it is Adam Beach as Ira Hayes who steels |
| the American outlook on WWII. This is not a story of | | | | the screen every chance he gets. Beach's character |
| heroism, it is the story of three men who believe they | | | | is tormented by the war and knows he is no hero |
| are unheroic in a time when America needed heroes. It | | | | when so many of his friends died over on Iwa Jima. |
| is the story of three men forced to tell a lie in order to | | | | He drinks himself to alcoholism to hide away from his |
| help the American government save face after a | | | | fears; he only wanting to tell the American people the |
| simple "typo" becomes the inspiration that our country | | | | truth about what happened on that island. |
| needed in order to purchase war bonds to keep the | | | | Its good to see Eastwood take a chance on younger |
| government from going bankrupt during the war. | | | | actors especially since the last time he did so was with |
| It is the exact opposite of 2006's other early film of | | | | Charlie Sheen in THE ROOKIE. |
| heroism WORLD TRADE CENTER which could be | | | | I hate to admit that I was hoping throughout the film to |
| labeled the poster child for heroism. Eastwood goes | | | | see him pop up as a senator or a high ranking military |
| out of his way to present a story in which there are | | | | leader, but he did not. He decided to stay completely |
| no heroes in war, just the survivors left behind. | | | | behind the scenes on this film (although his son Kyle |
| Writers William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis took a | | | | Eastwood does make an appearance, but doesn't |
| chance with the screenplay in its unconventional | | | | survive long in that his head gets separated from the |
| narrative. It is told through flashbacks within flashbacks | | | | rest of him early in the battle on the island). |