In 1945, the war in the Pacific theater arrived. White-hot stage. After nearly a month of brutal fighting, the U.S. military finally captured an island called Iwo Jima. A field photo sent back during the period made the entire United States boil. In the photo, six US soldiers bravely planted the Stars and Stripes to the high ground, showing heroism and patriotism in the billowing smoke. After the war, the three survivors in the photo returned to their homeland as heroes. However, they knew that the photo was only taken at the behest of the personnel concerned when the war started only eight days ago. But no matter how many Americans are, under the arrangement of the government, they have to start a national speech tour and attend various events with the halo of heroes in order to persuade people to buy military debt. Although the surviving soldiers were reluctant to act as tools of the government, they still did the "show" for the sake of the overall interests or under the pressure of some politicians.
After watching it, it is fair to say that this film is simply weak compared to other films in terms of the depiction of the war scenes. It can be said that the director is cherished in the timing of the battle scenes. It does not have the treacherous dark battle plot of the movie "Pearl Harbor", nor does it have a long battle scene, it is basically composed of short battle fragments.
So, what is the shining point of this movie? I think the director spends more on his reflections on the war, which gives the film considerable depth. When the Indian Ella couldn't bear the pressure in his heart, he chose to drink and fight, and even went to jail (for unknown reasons). In the end, he even walked more than 1,000 kilometers from Arizona to Texas on foot to explain to Harlan's father that his son was also a hero in the photo, once to relieve the elderly's middle-aged bereavement pain, and also slightly relieved The misery in Ella's heart. Doctor John chose to keep this secret as a doctor, but under the infinite condemnation in his heart, he finally told his son the secret in his heart before he died.
Whether the photo show is considered a white lie is debatable. Because on the one hand, the three warriors have been under tremendous pressure, and their lives can be said to be restless, especially Ella died of excessive alcoholism at the end, which is the biggest sad part of this film. However, from the perspective of all human beings or from the perspective of war science, the surviving flag-raising heroes have doubled the task of raising $14 billion by President Truman in 2 months through show and publicity. To a certain extent, it has reduced the war losses of mankind, which is another point of praise.
Conclusion: a small picture, but let people see the amazing power! But who knows how much suffering these three so-called "heroes" bear?
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