Flags Of Our Fathers review

With the continued carnage in Iraq, Americans need little to remind them of the futility and price of war. With the emotive, disjointed Flags Of Our Fathers, director Clint Eastwood has moved from the small setting of the boxing ring to the larger arena of World War II to re-examine the issues of heroism, courage and sacrifice.

"The right picture can win or lose a war," states one person weightily. As the body count and anti-war feelings rise, I'm sure George Bush would love to find the kind of galvanizing picture that helped turn public opinion back in favour of America's involvement in the second world war. The famous photograph of the six marines raising the American flag atop the small Pacific island of Iwo Jima has become an iconic image. Flags Of Our Fathers unveils the story behind the photograph and the men who were immortalized in it.

"Heroes are something we create, something we need," reflects the son of John 'Doc' Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), one of the flag raisers. It's why three of the soldiers in the picture, Doc, Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) found themselves plucked from the front lines in the battle of Iwo Jima, and heralded as heroes before being thrust into the national spotlight. Opportunistically seized upon by the US Government, the three men were used as political pawns in an effort to raise money for the flailing war effort.

For Eastwood and screenwriters William Broyles Jr and Paul Haggis, who adapted James Bradley and Ron Powers' book, undermining the authenticity and motives of such a symbolic image is itself courageous. The film succeeds in pointing an admonishing finger at the government's exploitation and callous treatment of the men.

Using the same bluish grey palette employed in Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg (who is a joint producer here), Flags Of Our Fathers is at its most chilling when depicting the random, sudden violence of battle. Tom Stern's cinematography, combined with the bloody and graphic images, place you at times as close to the front line as you'd ever want to go. The scenes of the naval landing are as convincing as they are impressive. At times the sheer scale is awe inspiring, but in Eastwood's efforts to juggle the war drama with the film's political message and the personal stories of the three men, Flags Of Our Fathers becomes disjointed. The abrupt jumps dissipate its effectiveness, deflecting its focus.

There is much to admire, but inevitably with Eastwood, he finds it hard to resist lapsing into sentimentality. His polished filmmaking is effective enough, but it lacks a tangible realism. That the film's most powerful moments come at the closing credits with photographs of the actual men who fought at Iwo Jima, along with photographs of the battle itself, is a reminder that Flags Of Our Fathers was about real men. It is something that at times was easy to forget.

Kevin Murphy