As a director, Clint Eastwood likes to focus on stories and people — not sexy young stars and expensive special effects. He prefers old-fashioned things like a good script, a good setting and good actors. His previous films The Bridges of Madison County, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby all share these virtues, as does his new war film Letters from Iwo Jima.

Nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, it centres on the bloody battle between the Americans and the Japanese on Iwo Jima, Japan, in February 1945. The film sees the battle from the perspective of the Japanese — just as its companion piece, last year's Flags of Our Fathers, sees the same battle through American eyes.

Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) plays General Kuribayashi, the newly appointed commander on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Because his soldiers are grossly outnumbered by the American forces, he tells them that "no Japanese soldier must die before he has killed 10 American soldiers". But foot-soldiers like Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) don't care about killing anyone. They just want to go home to their wives and kids. Clumsily trying to survive, the cowardly Saigo becomes our eyes and ears to the devastating horrors of war.