It humanized perhaps the most demonized enemy the U.S. ever fought. You have to watch "Letters" in tandem with "Flags Of Our Fathers," another Eastwood gem. That these critiques of the Good War came from a Hollywood conservative adds to their allure. Katha Pollitt might strongly disagree, based on her recent denunciation of Nicholson Baker's "Human Smoke," which I'm currently reading.
Dennis