In the late 1980’s Stephen Sondheim staged the Broadway premier of his musical “Assassins.” We had just come to Kuwait’s rescue from Saddam Hussein, under President Bush the elder, and no one was in the mood to be unpatriotic. “Assassins” closed in three weeks.

In 2006, Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg put made “Flags of Our Fathers” into a motion picture, which oozed patriotism, but now so many people don’t want the U.S. military to be in Iraq anymore, audiences aren’t in the mood to be patriotic. “Flags of Our Fathers” left major distribution in a few weeks as well and received very little support from critics. I’m amazed how much the times and the U.S. people have flipped 180 degrees in less than 20 years.

So, I must not be a real film critic since I absolutely loved this picture. This is a great historical piece. It’s a human story, and it’s an important story.

Three men captured in the notorious flag raising picture of Iwo Jima are asked to help the U.S. Treasury department by inspiring people to buy war bonds with a series of public appearances and unprecedented hype.

John Bradley, played by Ryan Phillipe, Rene Gagnon, played by Jesse Bradford, and Ira Hayes, played by Adam Beach, remember their time in the 40-day battle for the Japanese Island, while the son of Bradley interviews others who were there in preparation for a book he’s writing about his father.

At the time this picture hit cinemas, it was the best movie of 2006. It was respectful. It did not get preachy about the U.S. military. It was violent, but not obtusely violent like a Mel Gibson directed movie.

The film was a great examination of what makes a hero, and it’s a great telling of how a picture can start an entire movement.

Beach (Smoke Signals) was absolutely awesome; worthy of award recognition. He was definitely the stand out performance of the picture.

The cinematography of the Iwo Jima sequences was perfect. It really gave you a gray-scale feel of the post-bombarded island by the time U.S. troops landed on it. It made it stand out among other modern war movies.

Overall, the writing was exceptional. Eastwood’s direction was exceptional, and it was simply an exceptional film that DIDN’T tank in the last 15 minutes like so many others in 2006.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?