DVD Review: "Flags Of Our Fathers" (2006)

This overly ambitious film from Clint Eastwood tells the story of the raising of the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima in 1945. This event, captured in an iconic photograph, forms the basis for the disjointed and unclear offering that follows. Themes like the inhumanity of war itself, the manipulation of the media for the purposes of propaganda, poor treatment of non-white veterans by society and the relationships among the soldiers are explored in this obvious exercise in anti-war proselytizing.

Too much is crammed in here, and this is what makes "Flags" a good if not great film especially in contrast to companion piece "Letters from Iwo Jima", which explores the same battle from the Japanese perspective, albeit with more economy.

Decent, but keep your expectations in check.

Overall rating: 7/10