Letters From Iwo Jima (DVD, 2007, 2-Disc Set; Special Edition)

I bought this movie as the companion piece to "Flags of Our Fathers". Seldom do we look at a situation, especially one in war time from the point of view of our adversaries. This movie not only does this, it does it well. We see the young Japanese soldiers deal with the trials of day to day life, they questian the logic of their officers, they dream of home and are patriotic. Their mind set is to die gloriously for the empire but it's not their first choice. They want to live and go home too. We see the officers, condemned to an unwinable battle design a defense to make the defeat a very costly victory for the Americans. They too love their families and believe that for every day they hold, one more day free of bombing is gained for the home islands. From a historical point of view, it is extremely well done and is an evening watching it is an evening well spent. We must remember that our enemies have families and love their countries just as we do. As a teaching point this movie teaches respect for an opponent and the horrors of war.