Tradition Kneeling to the Present: The Queen and Letters From Iwo Jima

Review by Breanne Boland January 25, 2007 Issue

On the surface, aside from both once having been ruled by monarchies, Japan and England don’t have a tremendous amount in common. One is a traditionally reserved country, guided by a stark system of honor. The other’s history of warfare gave us the marvelous rude gesture that is the V-sign, that backwards two-fingered salute that came from defiant archers. The two cultures were separated for most of history by half the world, but in these two great films from the end of last year, it is demonstrated that, at least while under duress, they’re not so different after all.

In The Queen, Helen Mirren does a fine and subtle portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II as she reels in seclusion following Princess Diana’s unexpected death in August of 1997. She clings to tradition, declining to put the flag at half-mast over Buckingham Palace because Diana “wasn’t an HRH anymore” and refusing to release a statement for the same reason. Meanwhile, Britain roiled and broiled over the Palace’s perceived insensitivity. The royal family, almost entirely insulated from the common man, learns of the public fury from Tony Blair, then in the first months of his term as Prime Minister. During the period covered by the film, the British people began to turn away from the royal family; it’s all the more amazing because of it that Mirren is able to make possibly the most traditionally British woman left alive into such a sympathetic figure.

This placid, contemplative film is a sharp contrast to Letters from Iwo Jima, a film based in the trenches and battlefields following the decimation of Japanese forces. Ken Watanabe plays General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a military man who has traveled to the United States and is one of the few people in a position to realize that the Japanese armed forces, and the Japanese people at large, are ill equipped in numbers, weapons, and disposition to take on the Americans. Like Queen Elizabeth, their reliance on tradition and on a mindset badly adapted to a modern western world leads to catastrophe. Kazunari Ninomiya is a more passionate counterpoint to Watanabe’s stoically grieving general, playing a young married man drafted into a war far removed from his life as a baker. In the beginning of the film, he looks too young to be involved in something profane as a battle; by the end, his face reflects the hard-earned education all survivors of such conflicts earn. It’s a remarkable transformation that’s heartbreakingly done.

While both films feature standout performances, what keeps them in the realm of excellent storytelling are the fine supporting casts. War films can be anonymous, sometimes intentionally; in Letters from Iwo Jima, an island’s worth of casualties, made uniform by their fatigues and by the film’s washed-out tones, are rendered vividly, displaying a range of human reactions to war, stress, and despair. When a film’s body count gets into the thousands, it’s easy to pull back in defense, to generalize and become numb. Each death in this film hits hard, rendering today’s headlines of conflicts and casualties in much brighter shades than usual.

Mirren’s performance is framed by great turns from several actors, including James Cromwell as abrupt, inappropriate Prince Philip; Alex Jennings as the nebbish, indecisive Prince Charles; and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, who brings the harsh light of modern life to the royal family, despite constant resistance. From without, the queen’s reticence following Diana’s death seemed like appalling callousness; from this film’s perspective, we get a view of what her small gestures really cost her, and how much tradition and history she had to move past in order to make them. Her entire life, as demonstrated by her role in Blair’s inauguration, had been based on formalities and what is done and not done. To react based on sentimentality and what the heart demands was as foreign to her as surrender was to a Japanese soldier.

Letters from Iwo Jima and The Queen are nuanced depictions of our recent history as told from points of view rarely or never seen in American theaters. Right now, the other side of the story is one of the most valuable things art can offer us. Today’s culture works in sharp, insurmountable differences, rather than embracing common humanity, exploiting fear and ignorance to divide us for profit, for power, and for easier domination. To listen to the quieter voice, to realize our mutual humanity despite cultural and historical differences, is the strongest and most potent thing that can be done right now. These films provide a reflection of these voices and give them to us with vivid images and masterful storytelling. Hollywood and commercial filmmaking are often mocked as being out of touch with the common man; these films prove that all is not lost.

Bottom line: some of the best cinema can offer.

Coming Attractions

Jan. 26
Smokin’ Aces - A crime caper with a cast in the double digits - sound familiar? Before turning rat, Jeremy Piven hides out at Lake Tahoe, guarded by the FBI and prey for seven different assassins seeking him out for the million-dollar bounty on his head.

Catch and Release - When Jennifer Garner’s character’s fiancÈ dies, she falls in love with his best friend, whom she’d always hated. It sounds weirdly morbid for what’s being portrayed as a romantic comedy, but Garner’s talent has always been making the dark and violent cheery, so it may not be so dreadful.

Blood and Chocolate - A young female werewolf is made the mate of the head of her pack, though she loves a human. Could it possibly be any worse than Underworld? Please let the answer be no.

Feb. 2
Because I Said So - Diane Keaton is mother to three daughters and she and the two eldest try to find Mr. Right for the youngest, played by Mandy Moore. Supposedly inspired by a true story of pushy parents trying to marry off their child — and yet it’s a romantic comedy and not horror. Go figure.

The Messengers - This horror film, in which children see the threatening apparitions their parents can’t, comes from Sam Raimi’s production company and is the English-language debut of the Pang brothers, Chinese directors well-versed in horror (and also responsible for the film that inspired The Departed). A better pedigree than usual for a scary movie this early in the year.

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