"Flags of Our Fathers" is a well written account of the impact on the lives of three young servicemen by a single photograph seen back home as an image of victory. Little did nearly everyone know at the time, and apparently even today, the photograph depicted the 2nd raising of the flag. The "heroes" in the photograph felt far from heroic.<br /><br />Clint Eastwood juxtaposes memories of the preparation leading up to and in addition to the actual events at the Battle of Iwo Jima with ceremony after ceremony of War Bond fund-raising and the different effects it had on each man. To some, this jumping around, time-wise, may be a bit confusing, especially with the inconsistent use of a narrator.<br /><br />The battle scenes were, at times, gruesome and graphic, but were not overdone and successfully instilled a sense of what is was really like in the costliest battle the United States fought. The most gruesome scene, though, was left to the imagination.<br /><br />This was the first depiction of the Battle of Iwo Jima I've seen that attempts to divulge the mostly unknown faces of the men made famous by a photograph and the problems they faced at home.<br /><br />It was also one of the only movies I've seen where all (save 1) of the audience stayed for all of the credits and when the credits ended, there was a long, silent moment shared by all.<br /><br />In summary: Powerful.<br /><br />I'm looking forward to Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/)