Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima , Ijima Kara no Tegami? is a 2006 JapaneseAmerican war film directed and coproduced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwoods Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint the two films were shot back to back. Letters from Iwo Jima is almost entirely in Japanese, although it was produced by American companies Warner Bros. Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Malpaso Productions, and Amblin Entertainment. After Flags of Our Fathers underperformed at the box office, DreamWorks swapped the United States distribution rights to Warner Bros., who had the international rights.

The scene changes to Iwo Jima in 1944. Private First Class Saigo and his platoon are grudgingly digging beach trenches on the island. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison and immediately begins an inspection of the island defenses. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating by Captain Tanida for unpatriotic speeches, and orders the men to begin tunnelling defenses into Mount Suribachi. Kuribayashi and Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a famous Olympic gold medalist show jumper, clash with some of their seniors, who do not agree with Kuribayashis strategy Kuribayashi believes the US will take the beaches quickly, and only the mountain defenses will have a better chance for holding out.Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll many die of dysentery, including Kashiwara. The troops begin using the caves. Kashiwaras replacement, Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty. Saigo suspects that Shimizu is a spy from Kempeitai to report on disloyal soldiers. ........

Source: Wikipedia