Clint Eastwood released two movies this year that covered each side of the battle of Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers, the American side of the story, was released in October and flopped at the box office. Letters From Iwo Jima is told from the Japanese point of view. I give Clint Eastwood a huge amount of credit for making both movies (simultaneously, by the way) when he could have stopped after Flags.

I generally shy away from war movies because I hate watching people suffer, but the buzz from Letters From Iwo Jima is too loud to ignore. (Despite all the buzz, I hadn’t seen one commercial or one trailer until now.) Awards season is in full swing, and it is an early frontrunner for Best Picture. Plus, it stars Ken Watanabe, on whom I developed a huge crush after watching The Last Samurai.

The beautiful thing about the movie awards season is that it forces me to get out of my comfort zone and see truly great films that I otherwise might have missed. Letters From Iwo Jima could be one of those masterpieces, so I am going to SEE IT.

Letters From Iwo Jima is rated R and is currently playing in very limited release. (Official site)