Le Dernier Samouraï

"The Last Samurai" 2003 and "The Last of the Dogmen" (1995 d: Tab Murphy, with Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey in the lead) are both films with the theme of the 'last' of warrior spirits (one is Samurai, one is Cheyenne). The production of The Last Samurai is well worth seeing - the glory of a large-scale Hollywood production it is. From the research of the historical Japanese Meiji period, the mannerisms, the way different classes of people dress, the settings, the battle weapons and armory, how the Samurai train and fight, to the study and appreciation of the Art of War - where men of honor and integrity in service to the Emperor is the thing to die for. The film title in three Kanji characters means The Way of the Warrior (Samurai). The one character shown on screen at the very beginning (romanization: Sze) meant in the service of the King. Hence the definition of Watanabe's Samurai lifelong one true goal - to serve his Emperor, one and only, and to die in the service of the Emperor would be an honor.

The film, directed by Ed Zwick, is truly a combined labor of love of everyone involved. From the producer-lead actor Tom Cruise and Zwick's film-making partner Marshall Herskovitz, cinematography by John Toll and film score by Hans Zimmer, to the costuming details, diverse casting, location scouting all the way to New Zealand and training of the supporting cast - even the official Web site with extensive production notes - all provide enhanced appreciation of this remarkable film. The storyline and drama of "The Last Samurai" evoke various level of emotions, pulling the heartstrings of the audience with high emotional energy - suspense, sadness, smiles, empathy, joy.

"Kagemusha" by Akira Kurosawa, of course, is the ultimate grandeur of a historic Samurai epic. "The Last Samurai" is comparable in drama and treatment if not with equal passionate efforts all round. Both are available on DVD with special features of audio commentary and the making of 'featurette' and more.

This movie is filled with such excellent performances, beautiful cinematography, well choreographed action scenes, that me not understanding the movie, still liked it anyway.

I don't know much about Japanese culture or about the history of Japan during the late 1800s, so I could not fully understand what was happening in this movie. What impressed upon me is that Nathan Algren, a disallusioned, alcoholic American soldier who went to Japan to train the emperor's troops, was able to find friendship and respect the great samurai, Katsumoto. These two men, from different countries and cultures, were able to become friends because they are both warriors under their very different exteriors.

Tom Cruise is so good in this movie, but it is easy to overlook his performance and just think, wow, this man is so hot! He's even sexy as an alcoholic! This guy is so good looking that it took me awhile to see him as Nathan Algren, and not just Tom Cruise, sexy superstar actor. But once I got use to seeing him in this character, I believed him totally. But Ken Watanabe's emotionally, intense performance, totally blows away Tom Cruise's performance. One can't help but grow to respect this samurai who opposes the western influence in Japan and wants to retain the samurai way of life. This japanese actor is terrific! I hope to see him more in American movies. Even if you don't care for historical movies, you should still go just to see the performance of Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise.

I won't go into the plot. I think everyone has a pretty good idea of what the plot is. I just have to say, I don't see anything wrong with the japanese emperor trying to modernize Japan by associating with the Western powers, and I don't understand why Katusomoto is so against that. That's the one major problem I have with this movie, is that I don't understand enough of the politics during that time in Japan. Otherwise, this is a pretty great action flick and I enjoyed it immensely.

With `The Last Samurai', director Ed Zwick appears to be aiming for an epic on the scale of a David Lean or Akira Kurosawa film. He couldn't possibly aim higher, and if he is not entirely successful he has nevertheless produced a film which will leave audiences grateful for the ways in which he is.

Impressively, Zwick never forgets that a great epic is based in equal parts on quiet moments of personal growth as well as on spectacle, and the two are in proper balance throughout `The Last Samurai'. Furthermore, this film never falls into the trap of presenting its American hero as the savior of a group of savages. It's presentation of the Japanese culture as represented by both the government forces and the Samurai warriors is informative, entertaining and never less than three dimensional.

The film's opening (and, later, closing) moments are its weakest. Simply stated, Tom Cruise is completely unconvincing as an embittered and alcoholic Civil War veteran. Watching him deal with stock characters (such as the photographer played by Timothy Spall), we are reminded of school-level productions in which a young cast can not possibly understand much less convey the life experience we are supposed to believe they have had.

Fortunately, things pick up considerably when Cruise finds himself in the hands of the Samurai warriors he has come to Japan to train the soldiers against. Not only is the actor convincing in the physical daring-do we have come to expect of him, but he is able to project a subtle variation on a theme he has explored before. His characters always seem to exist for the purpose of getting some form of comeuppance. Here it comes not in the form of a big emotive scene, but gradually, over the course of time, as he gives himself over to a world based on ritual, respect and honor. These quiet moments, juxtaposed with his learning the ways of the warriors, are the heart and soul of this film. Cruise is greatly abetted by the excellent actors Ken Watanabe and Koyuki in these sequences, as well as by the boys who play Koyuki's sons. Indeed, the greatest example of Zwick's skill in piloting this film can be found in the ease with which the film alternates between two languages, with none of the clunky feel too often associated with joint international ventures.

Not surprisingly, the film leads up to a spectacular battle sequence which, if anything, is even more impressive than any found in `Braveheart' or `Gladiator'. "The Last Samurai" can not help but recall "Dances With Wolves", with which it has a great deal in common, as well.

There is, however, a hokey quality to the film's final half-hour which brings it back to the level of its opening, with an unrealistic coda that its title portends to. There are, in fact, too many endings, and none of them are on the level of the film's best moments.

But if `The Last Samurai' sometimes falls short of its epic aspirations, it nevertheless is far more successful than many of its recent peers. It will be interesting to see how it holds up with time.

Although the central character is American mercenary Tom Cruise, the story of The Last Samurai is about the little known to occidentals event of the Samurai revolt of 1877 led by Saigo Takamori who operates under a different character name and is played flawlessly by Ken Watanabe. Changing his name much like the way Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan were under different names in Inherit the Wind allowed for some dramatic and historic license.

Japan was undergoing a tremendous transformation at this point in time. The United States had with Commodore Matthew Perry's voyage in 1853 opened Japan and cracked her isolationist policy. Over 200 years before the Japanese government had instigated a policy of isolationism in regard to the countries of Europe. It seems as though they looked askance at the Christian missionaries and their activities. They put an almost total embargo on trade or contact of any kind with the west.

The Dutch who had very specifically not sent any missionaries to Japan were allowed some extremely limited trading rights in the city of Shiminoseki during this period. So in a limited sense the Japanese kept up with western technological developments. Firearms in fact unlike in the film were in some use in Japan even at the time of Perry's voyage. The Samurai did make some use of them.

Cruise is an American Civil War and Indian War hero who's making a living shilling for the Winchester Rifle company. He gets an offer to go to Japan to train a modern army for a whole lot of money and he accepts.

In between Perry's voyage and the events of this film, a new Emperor came on the throne. The Emperor Meiji was anxious indeed that his country catch up with the rest of the world and not become a colony of some modern technologically advanced western country. He also did not want to lose sight of old traditions. Duelling advisers competed for his heart and mind in the film and in real life.

Cruise's trained troops the first time they're in battle with the professional samurai turn and run. He's taken prisoner, but while in captivity grows to respect and admire Watanabe and what he represents. He also falls in love with a Japanese woman and I have to say his romance made a whole lot more sense than the one John Wayne had in The Barbarian and the Geisha.

The final battle scene is impressive, the samurai's own Alamo to put it in American terms. In defeat Saigo Takamori though a rebel became a folk hero in Japan.

The Last Samurai is a great story and Americans should see this story about a Japan they only know from World War II films, both good and bad. Tom Cruise should be given a lot of credit for using his star power to bring this story to American audiences.

In a bid to try to improve trade links between Japan and the US Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is hired to train an army to overthrow a rebellious group of samurai led by their leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). However, the army that Algren had been training encounter the Samurai before their training has been completed and the army end up being overpowered and defeated by the highly trained Samurai. Algren is the only survivor of this battle and in recognition of his bravery and determination Katsumoto spares his life and invites him to stay with the Samurai. During his time with the Samurai, Algren learns quite a bit about their culture and eventually embraces it and fights back against those that had originally hired him to overthrow the Samurai.

Tom Cruise's performances and films tend to vary greatly in quality so I do tend to approach a lot of his films with caution. I can safely say that this is one of his better films and also one of his better performances. Cruise is well-known for bringing a sort of smug arrogance to a lot of his roles and he definitely brings some of that to his role as Captain Algren - although there's only a whiff of it here rather than full on smugness that we've seen from him before. Director and screenwriter Zwick gives Cruise a character he can really sink his teeth into - Algren is obnoxious and rude at the start and shows very little respect for his employees. He's the same with the Samurai at the start, but I think the difference is that the Samurai show him respect and allow him to embrace their culture. The general saying in life is that to 'gain respect you must first give respect' and I got the feeling that this was one of the messages contained within this film.

The first 20 minutes or so of this film are slick and fast-paced, but the momentum does slow down where Algren is staying with the Samurai. Although the pace slackens at this point the film never becomes boring and Algren's narrative and the exploration of the Samurai culture were interesting enough to keep me involved with the story. The only criticism I have with this aspect of the story was when the ninjas attacked the Samurai - I just didn't see the point of it and it also seemed to add nothing to the story, but this really is a minor criticism.

Much like Seven Samurai, The Last Samurai is a slow-burning film that rewards the viewers patience with a spectacular closing act that is epic, clever and heart-breaking. Technical aspects of the film are also superb most notably the beautiful Japanese scenery and wonderful cinematography.

Clearly there are some politics involved here, but the politics are side-lined for the most part to make way for an interesting story about one man identifying more with an alleged 'rebellion' group over his own people. I've no idea how much of this story is true - it certainly references real life people such as General Custer and real-life events such as the battle of little bighorn, but never says anywhere that it's based on a true story. Truth be told, it doesn't matter to me whether the story is true or not because the film has a good story, it's moving at times, it's beautiful to look at, has some wonderful performances and to top it all the final battle is fantastic. Therefore it's very much worth seeing on its own merits.