Much better than its counterpart. The story, flashbacks included, flows throughout and the characters are sympathetic and flawed and genuine. Watanabe is predictably great, but I was really impressed with the actor playing Saigo, as he made his character the real hero of the film. It's incredibly affecting at times, something that Flags truly failed to do. And all the techs are very strong, but I knew that going in. Dark, depressing, and very powerful.

I continue to swap between this and "Children of Men" as 2006's best film, but both are on my all-time Top 20, so whichever one is on top is irrelevant.

This is Eastwood's true masterpiece as a director. Mystic River was good, Million Dollar Baby was great, Unforgiven was really good, and Flags of our Fathers was fine...but this is a flat-out masterpiece. I rarely have been so moved by a film, and it showed me that even though they were speaking another language, life is a very universal thing.

A+

Eastwood is a legend...

This is a great movie because it is hard to make films from the other side of history.

I liked it because I really like war films that look from the other side because we do not know how life was for them back then.

So I love it for that.

It is not a great set peice war film, and I was expecting more fighting. However it was very real and very well made.

I was angry with the lack of more back story telling.

B+/A-

This movie was incredible. Better than Flags Of Our Fathers.


A