USA: Clint Eastwood examines nature of heroism in new movie

In the twilight of his career, Clint Eastwood is once again bringing the Oscar heat in his latest film in which he turns a symbol of American patriotism -- raising the flag at Iwo Jima -- into a story of human waste and manipulation. "Flags of Our Fathers" tells the story of three of the men who raised the flag during the thick of the bloody battle for control of the Japanese island. Every war has its iconic image, and for World War II it was a hastily snapped picture by near-sighted AP photographer Joe Rosenthal of six faceless soldiers planting a billowing Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi in the early days of a battle that would claim 21,000 Japanese and 6,800 American lives. "The image I was obviously familiar with although I thought it had been taken in the heat of battle. I had no idea that there was another flag or any of that sort of stuff which was fascinating to me when I did find out. I read the book (by Jon Bradley's son) and learned a lot about the circumstances and about the characters. I read the book as soon as I heard that Clint Eastwood had optioned when there was no script. I had always wanted to do a military World War II film because of my grandfathers. My one grandfather in particular won a bronze star in Germany for fighting on the ground was my hero and to pay somehow to him and the men he served with, any even in a greater sense, to that generation. The way the defined out world was massively important to me," said Ryan Phillippe, who portrays John "Doc" Bradley in "Flags Of Our Fathers". It took John Bradley's son James years to piece together what his father went through and turn it into a bestseller. Bradley's book also concentrated on the stories of the two other surviving flag bearers, the American Indian Ira Hayes, who died an alcoholic, and New Englander Rene Gagnon, who became embittered as his celebrity faded. "I knew of this photograph growing up in North East England you know which is completely different then growing up in mainland America. So I saw it but I wasn't too sure if it was real or if it was staged. Secondly I thought it was American patriotism and that was something I didn't understand. We English only get patriotic when someone is literally about to invade us then it's like ok we have to get together like (Great Britain's Prime Minister Winston) Churchill which is amazing," said British actor Jamie Bell who portrays Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski in the film. The three flag-raisers are hurled into the public spotlight as canon fodder and used as propaganda tools to sell war bonds. The war and their subsequent brush with celebrity marked the men for the rest of their lives. Eastwood, 76, said he did not set out to make a war film, but a movie about the meaning of heroism and an examination of celebrity, something he has lived with for years as he rose from spaghetti westerns to making Oscar-winning films. His last two movies, "Million Dollar Baby" and "Mystic River," dealt with euthanasia and sexual abuse. Eastwood said he wanted "Flags of Our Fathers" to show the effects of war on the ordinary men who fight it in. "Clint Eastwood is the coolest guy that I'll ever meet. His direction is so trustworthy. He trusts you as a actor. Someone like him, with his stature believing in you, you can't help but to find the confidence to excel and give out everything . He really grows on you. He brings out the best in you," said Adam Beach who portrays Ira Hayes. Eastwood's next film is also about Iwo Jima -- the war from the Japanese point of view. Called "Letters from Iwo," it is in Japanese, primarily aimed at the Japanese market. "Flags of our Fathers", which is produced by Oscar winner Steven Spielberg, opens nationwide in the U.S. on Friday (October 20).

ITN Source | October 26, 2006

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