a5c7b9f00b Set in Japan during the 1870s, The Last Samurai tells the story of Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him. An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle. There's nothing wrong about this film - except pretty much everything. I.e., the film is fairly well directed, with enough money in production to give it a good look. The problem is that it is poorly thought-through, miscast, and politically and historically ill-conceived.<br/><br/>Actually, a much better story along similar lines was produced years ago on American television: "Shogun", with Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune. That pains me to say. While I love Toshiro Mifune (hard to dislike, really), I hated Chamberlain and thought "Shogun" one of the more boring episodes in American TV history. But, dammit, the writers of that "mini-series" actually did their homework and got it right! Anyone familiar with Japanese culture had to give them the grudging respect that they had neither "Westernized" it nor subverted it.<br/><br/>Alas, the same cannot be claimed for "The Last Samurai". Watanabe, at 6'2', and with the most pale skin and bland features of any Japanese actor I can recall, is as about as typical of 19th Century samurai as his co-lead, Tom Cruise, who is as typical of 19th Century Americans as, say, Michael Jackson. Both over-emote embarrassingly. In America, this is as forgettable as Kevin Costner, but in Japan it's virtually criminal.<br/><br/>The rest of the actors all do fairly well. The depictions of life in a Japanese farming village are not insulting - they're just out of place. Samurai lived in the manor, they had little to do with the farmers supporting them. The battle scenes are very well choreographed, but utterly detached; I felt I was watching a soccer match between two teams I didn't care for. AS for the politics - did the producers, director, et all., not realize that the writers had essentially written apology for the eventual rise of the Tojo junta, which invaded China (to the tune of 36 million dead), and bombed Pearl Harbor? Not even right-wing novelist (and leader of a failed coup) Yukio Mishma had that audacity! To the Japanese right, Tojo was an embarrassment, to the left a shame. In fact he himself, converted to Christianity just prior to his hanging, hoped he wouldn't burn in hell; but no other Earthling agreed with that hope, even the Emperor condemned him. <br/><br/>To be fair, probably even the writers of this distasteful script did not know what they were doing. Neither did the film's investors. or they would never have sunk so much money into such a shoddy script.<br/><br/>See "Shogun" instead - or, better, rent some films by Kurosawa or Mizoguchi. (Actually, even some early Godzilla movies would be more representative.... Japan has a great culture; Tom Cruise is a bad actor; do the math yourself.)_ I wasn't expecting much from this film but I was offered tickets for a preview so I thought I'd go.<br/><br/>This has all pretty much been seen before (Braveheart meets Dances with wolves, with a dead poet society moment), but I loved it.<br/><br/> It is a story of redemption. My favourite subject. Cruise's caracter starts the film as a man in ruins and comes back to life as he spends time with the samurais, learns their ways and fights off his old nightmares.<br/><br/> It is a very beautiful film (scenery, choreography, story), the japanese cast is excellent and the insight into this unknown (to most westerners) civilization is fascinating. LS definitely made me want to learn more about it. Made me feel I've got my life all wrong...<br/><br/> Too loud and violent for my taste at times, but as the film goes you understand that's the way it's supposed to be.<br/><br/> Deserves an 8/10 although there were some laughs when Cruise came out wearing the samurai costume. The only history that bears a real influence on The Last Samurai is the history of Hollywood moviemaking, and the unfortunate way it has of turning extraordinary stories into hopelessly ordinary ones. Captain Nathan Algren (<a href="/name/nm0000129/">Tom Cruise</a>), a disillusioned American war hero who fought alongside General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, is hired to train the Emperor of Japan's troops to use firearms against an uprising of Imperial warriors led by the "last samurai" leader Katsumoto Morito (<a href="/name/nm0913822/">Ken Watanabe</a>). After being captured, nursed back to health, and trained to fight like a samurai, Algren must decide just whose side he is on. The Last Samurai is based on a screenplay by American screenwriter John Logan, filmmaker Edward Zwick (who also directed and co-produced the movie), and co-producer Marshall Herskovitz. The film was inspired by an earlier film, also titled <a href="/title/tt0099987/">The Last Samurai (1988)</a> (1991), although the stories are not related to each other. The movie begins in 1876 and spans one year of time. Although no attempt at historical accuracy is made, the story was inspired by several real events. The basic story, that of a samurai rebellion against the Imperial Japanese government, was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion during which samurai in the Satsuma domain in Tokugawa Japan revolted against the new Meiji government. Algren's involvement was inspired by stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside the Tokugawas in the earlier Boshin War [1868-1869]. Katsumoto spared Algren partly because of his fighting skill but also because he had seen in a vision the crouching tiger that Algren displayed on the banner hanging from his spear. Sake or saké (pronounced "sah-key") is a type of rice-based alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin. Sometimes referred to as "rice wine", sake is actually brewed more like a beer and has a higher alcohol content (like from 18% to 20%) than mirin (sweet rice wine). Traditional sake is served at a temperature of 98.4°F. Capt. Algren was a veteran of the US Army's famed 7th Cavalry during both the civil war (1861-1865) and the Indian wars in the western territories after the war. As an experienced cavalry officer, he was proficient with using firearms and sabers while mounted on horseback though did not take part in the infamous Battle of The Little Bighorn of 4 July 1876 due to his assignment to train the emperor's army in Japan in 1876. Therefore, having been invited by the emperor to Japan basically kept Algren out of the battle, saving his life so to speak. Although firearms had been in use centuries earlier in Japan, they were later rejected as dishonorable. By the early 19th century, the gunsmith's art had fallen into disuse. However, both sides did use firearms in the Boshin War and the Satsuma Rebellion. There are no accounts of ninjas being used by the Meiji government during the Satsuma Rebellion. In fact, it is highly unlikely if they even existed by 1877. The last known use of ninjas in warfare was during the Shimabara Rebellion [1637-1638] during the Edo period, which was 240 years before the Satsuma Rebellion took place. The samurai do well in the first round of the battle but, when the second and third regiments come, they are no match for the Gatling guns. The entire Samurai army is destroyed. Mortally wounded, Katsumoto asks Algren to help him die with honor, so Algren assists him with performing seppuku. At the death of Katsumoto, the entire Imperial army fall to their knees and bow before the fallen samurai. Only Algren survives. Later, as the Emperor (<a href="/name/nm1258003/">Shichinosuke Nakamura</a>) is about to sign the treaty between the Americans and the Japanese, a badly-injured Algren appears before the court and offers Katsumoto's sword to the Emperor in hopes that he will remember all that his ancestors have done. The Emperor accepts the sword and rules that this treaty is not in the best interest of his people. When Omura (<a href="/name/nm0361735/">Masato Harada</a>) protests, the Emperor informs him that he has decided to confiscate Omura's family's assets and make of them a gift to the people. He offers Katsuomoto's sword to Omura should he not be able to live with the disgrace, but Omura bows and backs away. The final scenes show Algren returning to Katsumoto's village and to Taka (<a href="/name/nm0468746/">Koyuki</a>) and her sons. In a voiceover, Simon Graham (<a href="/name/nm0001758/">Timothy Spall</a>) says: And so the days of the samurai had ended. Nations, like men, it is sometimes said, have their own destiny. As to the American captain, no one knows what became of him. Some say he died of his wounds, others that he returned to his own country, but I like to think he may have, at least, found some small measure of peace that we all seek and few of us ever find. Although he's been taught some Samurai swordplay, Algren is not Samurai. There is some confusion among viewers because of the fact that the word "samurai" is both a singular word and a plural word. In the singular, samurai can refer to a specific individual, as "Katsumoto is a Samurai." In the plural, samurai can refer to Samurai warriors in the collective, as "Katsumoto is Samurai" or "Katsumoto's Samurai." Therefore, it can be argued that the "Last Samurai" can refer either to Katsumoto himself, to his Samurai army, or to the last of the real Japanese Samurai. In the bonus section on the DVD, the director explains that the title refers to the Samurai as a race or class of people. The whole movie, in fact, is based on the end of the Samurai culture and the emergence of a new way of life in Japan, based on western ideals. The Last Samurai is often compared to <a href="/title/tt0099348/">Dances with Wolves (1990)</a> (1990) and <a href="/title/tt0066049/">A Man Called Horse (1970)</a> (1970) for the storyline, although both of these two movies deal with Native American Indians, not Japanese samurai. If it's similar samurai movies you want, try the TV miniseries <a href="/title/tt0080274/">Shogun (1980)</a> (1980) or Akira Kurosawa's <a href="/title/tt0047478/">Shichinin no samurai (1954)</a> (Seven Samurai) (1954). The classic epic <a href="/title/tt0056172/">Lawrence of Arabia (1962)</a> (1962) is another film with a story about East meeting West, a westerner bonding with a group of "natives" that he joins up with, and is critical of westernization becoming intrusive to foreign societies/cultures.
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Updated: Mar 9, 2020
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