Ken Watanabe has been talking about his experience working with Clint Eastwood on Letters From Iwo Jima, and his original fears of an American making the Japanese side of the battle.

His comments, in The Guardian are quite surprising:

"I was worried before shooting," Watanabe said in an interview with The Associated Press at a posh resort on Waikiki Beach. "We wanted to explain and express the Japanese feeling 60 years ago. He totally understood. We completely had good chemistry."

Now I expected as much, how else could he have managed to get so much cooperation from the Japanese, and would you really have expected anything less from Eastwood? The surprising thing is just how much he likes Eastwood, and it sounds more than just the usual press comment.

"Best director in the world," Watanabe said. "It was so comfortable to shoot."

...and he goes onto say, although this isn't directly quoted...

...because the Academy Award-winning director understood the actors and established a calm working environment on set.

There's just nothing I'm hearing that's bad about this film, and in fact everything is just making it sound absolutely stunning. As Eastwood says, it's not about the battles...

"It's not about winning or losing, but mostly about the interrupted lives of young people, and losing their lives before their prime,...These men deserve to be seen, and heard from."

In a way it's a shame that Eastwood has come to directing so late in his career because when he has done he's produced some superb pieces of work, and they just seem to be getting better and better.