Telling the Japanese side of the story in a companion film to “Flags of Our Fathers” is a brilliant idea. Those faceless soldiers that I saw a few weeks ago in that movie come to life here and haunt us for days (well at least for me, the baker Saigo is not an easily forgettable character). We learn about their families, their fears, their good moments and their weaknesses. Once again the cinematography and the drab colors are perfect. The cast includes many excellent performances, especially the actors playing Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) and General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). Thoroughly enjoyable and a fantastic WWII classic.