It's a very good film. Historically, Ritsurin was the most westernized among Japanese generals, because he had an American experience in his early years. When he first appeared, he really gave me the feeling of an American soldier, plus he was tolerant of soldiers, and I was a little worried that he was not "Japanese" enough. After seeing it, I was relieved, because in the end, I took the lead in a suicide charge and broke the emperor's jade.
If there is no historical background, it may be tiring to watch.
First of all, the Japanese army in World War II was deeply poisoned by militarism. It was notoriously desperate and absolutely loyal to the emperor. Most of the generals were people like Ito. At this time, Ririn formed a strong contrast;
Secondly, so are the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese soldiers were the most deadly in World War II and had the world's first hand-to-hand combat capability. The most typical example was the suicide charge. The appearance of Xixiang really visualized the Japanese soldiers, making people think, oh, it turns out that the Japanese soldiers are also afraid of death. In fact, in many previous films, the Japanese soldiers have formed a brutal, ruthless, and lifeless masked image. Like most of the Yusui soldiers under Ito, the appearance of this character turned the Japanese soldier into a "person".
Also, the Battle of Iwo Jima was actually a very special battle. It was a very small island. The U.S. military was expected to take it in 5 days, but it took more than a month. The subtlety of this battle is "tunnel warfare". Tunnel warfare was common in the Chinese battlefield during World War II, but it was used by the Japanese army itself. It was still very rare in the Pacific battlefield. Most of the Japanese generals at that time would not have come up with this kind of tactic. Their general idea was to dig trenches and ambush to the front beach. If this is done, the U.S. military will definitely take Iwo Jima in five days. After all, a dozen aircraft carriers, dozens of warships, and hundreds of bombers will raze a 20-square-kilometer trail to the ground in minutes. However, because of the defensive tactics of tunnel warfare adopted by the Japanese army, air raids and naval warfare had little effect, and they could only land on land warfare, but because the Japanese army was difficult to attack in the dark tunnels, they paid a heavy price.
In a word, the two characters of Li Lin and Xixiang are very well portrayed. Perhaps because some historical background films have not been explained in depth, many people's viewing experience has been affected. I think of the Japanese soldier in Lu Chuan's "Nanjing Nanjing", which is inexplicably different. Director Lu still has to learn more from the classics.
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