Episode #21 – Letters From Iwo Jima (硫黄島からの手紙)
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
硫黄島からの手紙 [Iou Jima Kara No Tegami]
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Written by Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis
Based on Picture Letters From The Commander in Chief by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi
The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester amongst his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese Army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
Cast
Ken Watanabe – General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya – Private First Class Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara – Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi
Ryô Kase – Private Superior Shimizu
Shidô Nakamura – Lieutenant Ito
Hiroshi Watanabe – Lieutenant Fujita
Eijiro Ozaki – Lieutenant Okubo
Takumi Bando – Captain Tanida
Nae – Hanako
Lucas Elliot – Sam
