Flashbacks from Letters...



Adrian & I love to read about events of World War II. What better way to delve into the minds of those in the front lines than through their personal letters to loved ones. No inhibitions. Just pure emotion and honesty. Why the curiosity to learn more?

Well, the experience of living through the Japanese Occupation in the 1940s is also deeply etched in our families. My grandparents survived the hardship and devastation of war. So did Adrian's father and both my parents. We've been told many horror stories about Japanese atrocities & war crimes particularly towards the Chinese in mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia (formerly, Malaya) and so on.

Adrian's uncle was on the death list only to have his life spared when the Japanese surrendered. A mass grave for him and many others had already been dug-up. My Grandfather had to trek 523 miles or 842 kms through the jungle at night from Miri (an oil town North of Borneo) to Kuching City to avoid being caught by the Japanese army. Sadly, one of the men in his entourage had his head severed by a traitor of native origin.

In the midst of all the gloom and doom, they were also some who weren't evil. My Grandmother used to work for a Japanese Lieutenant. Her job was to wash and mend his clothes. While she was busy washing, he would carry my [infant] Mom around and let her play with his gold-plated crocodile paper weight. Did he have a child and family back in Japan?? Nobody knew. He was pretty decent except for one incident when he gave my Grandmother a good whack on the head for sewing his military insignia buttons wrongly. Still, she was paid accordingly and received freebies like soaps and miscellaneous sundries for the home.

Anyway, back to "Letters...".

Towards the final scenes of the movie whereby the Japanese soldiers were committing "seppuku" using grenades, an elderly woman suddenly made a sarcastic comment that I thought destroyed the objective of Clint Eastwood's directorial efforts.

Woman sitting behind me: "They sure like to kill themselves."

Huh?!! "...like to kill themselves". She thought they enjoy blowing themselves up? Wasn't there enough raw emotion & sense of hopelessness to accompany their final moments? I was appalled and saddened by her remark because she was watching the movie without any empathy and didn't truly understand the concept and tenets of Bushido which was the pillar of Japanese military culture in ages past.

Even harder to believe because throughout the entire 120 minutes of the movie, the military men kept on repeating how it was an honor to die serving the Country & Emperor (as opposed to being caught by the American soldiers and get killed anyway - as it did to some unlucky ones that surrendered).

Was she sleeping in the theater or did ethnocentrism just took place? Subtitles were written in perfect English so no excuse of incomprehensibility. Needless to say it was all down hill for me from there on. It still vexes me to think about it.

That aside,"Letters.." is a good reminder to all that in war, there's no winners or losers. The devastation and repercussion to both sides of the camp, to the victims, their families, to the conquered and the oppressed is far greater than the short intense moment of victory which is often forgotten after a while.

To quote Ghandi:
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

I love this movie. It has several Oscar nominations and hopefully it'll be recognized as a powerful piece of work.


Interested to read more?
Comfort Women
Amnesty International Malaysia
Rape of Nanking or The Nanjing Massacre