"The flag raising on Iwo Jima was a real event that became a pseudo-event, the engine to a huge marketing machine with goals far more ambitious than the original participants could have imagined.

And that process, exactly and resonantly, is the center of Clint Eastwood's heartbreaking and sobering film "Flags of Our Fathers," based on the bestseller by James Bradley, son of John "Doc" Bradley, one of the six who planted the flag on Mount Suribachi that day in February 1945, on an island that still lay at the epicenter of the cauldron of battle.

Within a few weeks, three of the flag raisers were dead. Back in the real world, the photo took on a life of its own, noticed by shrewd government operators who knew a good thing when they saw it. Thus, the survivors -- Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Pima Indian Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) and New Hampshire millworker Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) -- were pulled from battle (actually, the wounded Bradley was pulled from a hospital) and sent on a bond tour. Their new mission: Pretend to be heroes.

"Flags of Our Fathers" stands with the best movies of this young century and the old one that preceded it: It's passionate, honest, unflinching, gripping, and it pays respects. The flag raising on Iwo might have indeed become a pseudo-event as it was processed for goals, but there was nothing pseudo about the courage of the men who did it."

Get the Story:
A Raw Homage to Heroes [condensed review] (The Washington Post 10/20)
pwpwd
'Flags of Our Fathers' Salutes The Men Behind The Moment (The Washington Post 10/20)

Relevant Links:
Flags of Our Fathers - http://www.flagsofourfathers.net
Adam Beach, official message board - http://www.adam-beach.com/beach_talk

Related Stories:
Adam Beach wins 'Rising Star' award for 'Flags' role (10/17)
Adam Beach praised for portrayal of Ira Hayes (10/10)
Adam Beach plays Ira Hayes in 'Flags of Our Fathers' (10/6)