I watched The Last Samurai today and once again found myself watching a film that is essentially about two people having conversations with each.
Released in 2003 the film stars Tom Cruise as former U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren, who is hired on to train a new Japanese army to suppress a Samurai rebellion. Cruise ends up being captured by the Samurai warlord Katsumoto, played by Ken Wantanabe, and as the to men get to know each other a bond and a level of respect begins to form.
Cruise learns the way of the Samurai and joins Wantanabe in his rebellion against the westernization of his country. The film is based on the true story of a French Army Captain who fought alongside the Samurai during the Satsuma Rebellion in 1876.
The film immediately brings to mind Shogun, Lawrence Of Arabia and Dancing With Wolves and those comparisons are easily made. The white outsider is introduced to the culture and customs of another race, learns to respect them, and then lead them into battle. Except in Samurai the Cruise does not lead them, rather he is recognized as being one of them, something Katsumoto saw when he was captured. Algren is a warrior who has lost his honor and the ways of the Samurai help him find himself again. It's during the period when Algren lives amongst the Samurai that the film really works. The two men have good conversations which helps us understand them. This part of the film had a true sense of life in a small Japanese village.
Director Ed Zwick (Glory) has crafted an excellent film yet somehow I felt let down at the end. The final battle felt like it was lifted directly from Braveheart, with all the blood and slow motion cinematography. Unlike yesterdays' Valkyrie, Tom Cruises star power works for him here. We recognize him as something truly American and we except has he learns the ways of the Samurai warrior.
Who was the Last Samurai? Was it Katsumoto who died on the battlefield? Or was it Algren, the man who took the ways of the Samurai to be his own. And if it was Algren, if he truly was a Samurai, why was he alive at the end of the battle? Because American audiences need a happy ending?
At the Movie House rating *** 1/2 stars.
This concludes my mini Tom Cruise film festival. Since I started in May I have watched Minority Report, war Of The Worlds, Knight And Day, Collateral, Valkyrie and The Last Samurai. In each film he gave an outstanding performance. he inhabits the lives of the people he creates on the screen and he does it with a passion for his work that makes his performances magnetic. All the cynics can trash his personal life, but he is a consummate actor and one of the best "movie stars" of the past 40 years.
At the request of a loyal reader tomorrow I will be watching Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West.
3 comments:
Hmmmmmm....interesting, I liked this movie but that was about it...It had a similar letdown feeling as Velikrie...good movie but again lacking in something. This is a three star movie,,,3.5 means on the verge of a great movie...I do not give out 3.5 stars liberally, the movie must be on the verge of greastness to earn it...This movie does not attain that level...A good movie but it falls short...3 stars in order
A secret committe we have formed recommends that you reduce every review you do by one half star
Want to see a 4 star war movie...watch Gettysburg...One of my favorites of all time.
Dear Anonymous,
Please leave my stars alone. There is a difference beteen Valkryie (a good 3 star film) and The Last Samurai ( better 31/2 star film).
Valkryie is almost straight plot. I had no sense of anything that was going on beneath the surface of the events. The narration by the Cruise character gives him motivation and we are supposed to assume all the characters feel that way. It is a very comptetnt straight forward thriller.
The Last Samurai offered up themes of honor and loyalty. Tradition vs. Change. The sense of camraderie betwen warriors even if they are enemies. It made me think and made me want to learn more. The most compelling parts of the film were the conversations between Cruise and Wantanabe. When a big action picture really captures those quiet moments you know it has achieved something.
I suggest the secret committe go back and watch these films again and open their minds to everything the film has to offer.
Unfortunately all of the member sof the Committee are deaf and blind, as you may have guessed
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