Trust Clint Eastwood to come up with something so staggering to watch that you can't help but applaud its beauty. That's the case with his latest film, "Letters From Iwo Jima".

The fruit of his work behind the camera, from "Unforgiven" to "Million Dollar Baby", has placed him among the best directors in the world, but unlike Steven Spielberg, he still has a good reason to be working: He makes films that count.

Unquestionably, "Letters From Iwo Jima" comes at an important time - especially for Asians, with Japan rearming after half a century as an international pariah, thanks largely to its military record in China and, later, East and Southeast Asia.

Eastwood's movie depicts the savagery of this era, all but forgotten in these times of the Internet and manipulative TV.

Easily a big contender for the Oscars next year, "Iwo Jima", in Japanese, tells the story of the battle from the enemy's perspective.

Most politicians in Japan and America would prefer to forget Iwo Jima because it evokes so much pain. But this film on the subject is a timely reminder of why the US invasion of Iraq has met with such fierce resistance.

Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest engagements of World War II. Of the six men who raised the flag at Mount Suribachi, celebrated in the now-famous statue, three died before the island was secured.

 Japan lost more than 22,000 soldiers and the US marines lost 6,822 in a battle that raged over 36 days in February and March 1945, just months before atom bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

In defending Iwo Jima, Japan was already fighting a desperate rear-guard battle, realising its navy and air force were decimated. Its soldiers were ordered to fight to the death to protect the motherland by buying time for its cities to prepare for the inevitable US invasion.

In a world where the tales of the defeated are seldom given any space, it is to Eastwood's credit that he has given the Japanese side of the story.

Eastwood employed the Japanese-American screenwriter Iris Yamashita to give an authentic feel to the film. The Japanese cast headed by sterling actors such as Ken Watanabe, Kazumai Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara and Ryo Kase gives an excellent performance, demonstrating how well Eastwood was able to communicate the language of film beyond borders.

It would be an error to assume that most Asians have much knowledge about the war in the Pacific, beyond the simplified version we get via textbooks and propaganda. "Iwo Jima" opens the subject to closer scrutiny, and the film should throw light on the gist of the matter for Asians today.

The new Japanese army, being strengthened to protect the nation and its allies in Asia from threats, has much to understand from the chapter of history told here, as so much has been blotted out in the school books to manipulate the masses in recent times.

by hanuman