Flags of Our Fathers (R, 2006)

common sense media says

Harrowing World War II drama isn't for kids.

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this harrowing World War II drama isn't for kids. The battlefield violence is graphic, with weapons ranging from tanks and grenades (explosions, flying bodies) to bayonets and knives (close-up assaults, with bloody, ravaged effects visible). The film opens with a battlefield-set nightmare, then cuts frequently between the present and flashbacks to the brutal fighting and the tour, so it's not always clear when the violence will be cropping up. Characters use frequent profanity (mostly "f--k"), smoke cigarettes in nearly every scene (except in the heat of battle), and drink plenty of alcohol, with one man in particular becoming drunk as he grieves his dead comrades and feels guilty for surviving. There's a brief reference to masturbation.

Positive messages: The administration exploits the young flag-raisers to sell war bonds; there's racism directed toward a Native American Marine; heroes argue, drink, and fight; criticism of the artifice of the fund-raising tour; lying to mothers of dead Marines.

Violence: Repeated, harrowing violence (mostly related to war): explosions, gunfire, bayoneting, stabbing; weapons include flamethrowers, cannons, automatic weapons, tanks, swords, grenades, missiles; are bodies thrown and exploded; grisly images include a head dropping on one soldier, heroes stabbing enemies, Japanese suicides by grenades, burning bodies, a tank rolling over a body, and Marines killed by "friendly fire" from a Navy ship; a body is discovered in a corral by kids (the body is viewed from above, at a distance).

Sex: A joke about "masturbation papers" is played on a young Marine.

Language: Repeated use of "f--k" (30+), as well as frequent other profanity ("s--t," "jackass," "a--hole," "hell," "damn"); thematic and repeated pejorative references to Ira's Native American idenity ("redskin," "squaw," "wigwam"); derogatory reference to "A-rabs."

Consumerism: Flag-raisers are treated as commercial "product," so the issue is thematic.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Frequent cigarette smoking (soldiers smoke incessantly, except when in battle); hard, sad drinking (Ira drinks to get drunk, then stumbles, cries, and acts out his frustrations).

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What to talk about

Talk to your kids

Families can talk about the legacy of World War II, often thought of as the "good war." What gets left out of the equation (pain, violence, other devastating experiences) when people look back and focus on the heroism of war? Is there such a thing as the "true" version of history? Also, how do the men who go on the fund-raising tour realize that they're being treated as commercial products? How do they suffer as a consequence? How does the movie question the notion of "heroism" as it's used to promote war?

What's the story?

Structured as a series of flashbacks and interviews, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS focuses on the pain, fear, and calamity of combat, and the difficulties faced by the three surviving flag-raisers captured in Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II photo, whom the government sent on tour across the United States to encourage people to support the war effort. The men include Navy corpsman "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach). Along with the lasting, horrific affects of war felt by the men, the film reveals the irony behind the photo itself, and how the flag-raisers feel exploited by the fundraising process. We also see the hardships of Ira, a Native American who's dogged by racism by fellow Marines and civilians. Ira turns to alcohol to numb his pain and eventually, after retiring from the military, he's found dead at age 33, a victim of "exposure," according to the coroner's report.

Is it any good?

A large, roiling reassessment of the relationships between war, commerce, and mythology, Clint Eastwood's film is at once magnificent and disquieting.

Complex and earnest, Flags of Our Fathers emphasizes that the flag-rasiers most admire their fallen friends, who didn't "think of themselves as heroes." In doing so, the film indicts the war-makers -- then and now -- who have "never been to war" but still send young men to fight, and honors those warriors who saw and committed acts, both horrific and heroic, that they can never forget.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details

Studio: DreamWorks
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Adam Beach, Jesse Bradford, Ryan Phillippe
Genre: Drama
Run time: 132 minutes
Theatrical release: October 19, 2006
DVD release: February 6, 2007
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: for sequences of graphic war violence and carnage, and for language.

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs

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bk375394
kid, 13 years old

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Flags of Our Fathers (R, 2006)

common sense media says

parents & educators say

What parents need to know

More on Flags of Our Fathers

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

What's the story?

What's the story?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Movie themes & details

Movie Details

Review It

Review Flags of Our Fathers

What parents & educators say

Most useful reviews by all members

Good.

Very well done, but not perfect

stinks

Disappointing.

good

Great Movie, One of My Favorites

Flags of Our Fathers

For some 13 and up

OK movie

Awesome

perfect for teens

Very accurate WWII drama

A touching movie about Remembering Our Soldiers. Sad, indeed.

AWESOME!!!

Very powerful and good movie if you can handle it

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