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Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) on Netflix

R20062h 21mDramaHistoryWar

On Iwo Jima in 1944, the conscripted baker Saigo digs beach trenches until Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command and orders the garrison to tunnel its defenses.

  • Netflix3.8/5
  • IMDb7.8/10178,246 votes
  • Rotten Tomatoes91%

Trailer

Plot summary

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 among 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, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.

Cast

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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.

  • The filmmakers had to be given special permission by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima, because the remains of more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers are there. Civilian access to the island is restricted to those attending memorial services.
  • Only one character appears in both films: Charles W. Lindberg, played by Alessandro Mastrobuono, turns up in Flags of Our Fathers and in Letters from Iwo Jima.
  • The battleship used for the close-up shots of the fleet in both movies had taken part in the actual attack on Iwo Jima, spending five days there.
  • The film was a success in Japan, and a tourist boom has since been reported on the Ogasawara islands, the chain of which Iwo Jima is part.

Stills

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