Why do we cry?

When I first saw the title of the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" in a poster, I read it as 'Letters from 1(st) WO (Warrant Officer) Jima". When I related this incident to my colleagues at Singtel, I had the guys spilling over with laughter for half an hour. Sigh.

Anyway I thought it apt for me to catch this film with my army buddies who have braved untold dangers with me during my 1 1/2 years in Sembawang Air Base, risking our very lives to defend the base from terrorists, especially military toughies which hold the ranks of Major and above, who try to smuggle laptops, pirated DVDs, camera handphones, etc etc into the base.

Ok, back to the point. My judgement was quite right after all. Letters is not another soapy war film that focuses on war-torn couples and frilly love like Pearl Harbour, but a true war movie about kinship, loyalty, courage, vulnerabilities, and quite literally, blood and tears. Men take central stage as they display bravery, weakness, and all sorts of epiphany through the battle. But that doesn't mean women are next to nothing. Behind their facedes of toughness and resilience, they show their true selves as they write letters to their mothers and wives. There was one poignant moment, as a Japanese officer read a letter found on a dying US soldier from his mother. Borrowing a line from Ken Watanabe, "I swore to die to protect my family, but the thought of them makes it difficult to keep that promise."

Towards the end, I was almost moved to tears by many heart-aching moments. Which actually led me thinking, why am I crying for the Japanese soldiers? They invaded Singapore, and SE Asia and China, and made life hell for our forefathers. In fact, why do we cry when we watch soapy Korean romance shows, or when we read tragedies and disasters on newspapers? I mean, the lives and deaths of the characters, real or fictional, are none of our business after all.

Then I was enlightened, sort of. The keyword is Humanity. i think that we are not actually crying for the protagonists, but for humanity itself. I believe that all humans are ultimately connected by a sense of humanity that transcends all barriers. No matter how ruthless and cruel one might appear to be, I believe he still have that bit of conscience and humanity left somewhere in his heart. Just like Darth Vader who returned to the good side when his master is about to kill his son. Maybe that's why Clint Eastwood can produce a Japanese film. Perhaps that's why we all cry.