The world still has its heroes

Saw a movie last weekend with a friend of mine. "The Flags of Our Fathers" directed by Clint Eastwood. But before i start i gotta confess something. I am a big time Clint Eastwood fan. Be it Mystic River or The Million Dollar Baby, he is a director par excellence. It's hard to believe that this was the same gun-slinging guy that we saw in "The good,The Bad and The Ugly". He has a great way of making movies on sensitive subjects without much ado. This is just another example of that. But still i wont say this is his best . The movie becomes a bit preachy and redundant at times. I liked mystic river better. Nevertheless, its better than most movies that have come in recent times. Especially much better than the 300 and Apocalypto types ( I haven't seen those, thanks to The New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes). I know i shouldn't even be comparing these. They are like comparing apples and rotten cabbages.

"Flags of Our Fathers" is about a historic flag raising by six American soldiers that took place in IWO JIMA, a small dot on the Pacific. Only three survived The War. I am not going to write a review on the movie. You can find lots here.

This movie, though speaks about a battle in WWII that is less known, is not about war; its about the soldiers who survived it and carried the horrors of it throughout their lives. Its about what we consider as a heroic act and what the heroes consider those acts as. Its about how we (read government, in a democratic sense) exploit these.

The violence of war is portrayed in a subtle but highly effective way. There is blood and gore, but it lasts only for a few moments. Long enough to convey what it has to convey. Blood (CGI ones) doesn't have to be splattered all over the cam lens to be effective. I would say thats for retards. But if you are someone who gets a kick out of it, then steer clear of this movie. You are in for a big disappointment.

Another striking feature of the movie is the brilliant Cinematography and Editing. The battle scenes have a washed out look, much similar to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

The movie ends with a question. Who are heroes ? Do heroes themselves feel that ? Most of the time, in the movie, we see that two of these three men are reluctant heroes. They consider themselves as deserters and opportunists than real heroes. Maybe heroism is just something we make up to feel that good people do exist. That there are times when people think above themselves.

The movie reminded me of someone, a real hero of our times. Liviu Librescu was an Israeli professor who was killed at the Virginia Tech shooting. But before he died he saved almost his entire class. The brave professor used his body as a shield, not letting the attacker get into his classroom. He held the door shut and braved bullets so that his students could get out of the window. Maybe all the atrocities and torture that he suffered in his life gave him the courage. Maybe he knew how precious life is.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).”

I think the few tears i shed is not enough for his bravery. Yes we do need heroes and we need stories of heroism. At least for the sake of sanity.