Actor Clint Eastwood hopes film helps young Japanese

TOKYO (AP) -- Ken Watanabe said he hopes a new Clint Eastwood film about the bloody World War II battle for Iwo Jima, in which he plays a main role, can help young Japanese face their country's wartime history.
"As we went through this film, we realized that until now, we haven't really looked at Japan's past. We kind of looked away from it," said Watanabe, who stars in "Red Sun, Black Sand." "But we have to look at it and accept the fact that this is what our fathers and grandfathers have actually done."
"Accepting the reality is the first step," he said at a recent news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Watanabe plays the general who loses the battle, causing the death of many young Japanese soldiers who followed his orders.
He called the film a portrayal of human beings through the lens of war -- how ordinary people thought, functioned and lived.
Eastwood has spent the past year working on "Red Sun, Black Sand," in Japanese and with a predominantly Japanese cast, and a second film, "Flags of Our Fathers," which follows the story of the U.S. troops famously photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima.
Both movies are scheduled for release this year.