Movie Review: "Last Samurai"
I thought that Last Samurai was a good film, a bit overly trite in places, but it had moments that worked. This is a story about a man who has to witness the destruction of two honorable societies and still find a place to live in it all. Its directed by Edward Zwick, who directed Legends of the Fall and you can see Legends type moments in this film. It runs for about two and a half hours, but it didn't seem that long to me.
The story begins with Nathan, Tom Cruise, who lived with the Native Americans and then fought against them. He watched the demise of these people and simply could not forgive himself for his part in it. He turns to drinking (what else). Then a Japanese business man comes along and wants to hire him to teach the Japanese army to fight in the American style with American weapons. Seems there is a rebellion against this modernization. The rebellion is lead by the Samurai who feel they are serving the emperor by fighting against him. Nathan agrees and to Japan we go. He is training farmers who have no experience to fight, and of course they are sent to battle before they are ready. In this battle, Nathan is captured and held "politely" all winter until the roads again open. Of course while he is there, he begins to appreciate what the Samurai stand for and he effectively switches sides. We are experiencing one man's personal journey of growth.
The fight scenes are choreographed well and are rather good. I love nicely choreographed sword fighting. There is some cinematography that you know are set up but you recognize the beauty anyway. There really were some picture perfect moments. The background music reminds me in some flavor of Braveheart–without the bagpipes.
Some of the moments are trite. You know they are there just to pull on your heart strings, but hey, you cry anyway. At least the romance in the film wasn't too thick. There are some "quotes" that are supposed to be deep but they seem forced, but for the most part this movie works well. I enjoyed the story, although it probably could have been written better. I have no major problems to point out in it. The script was a bit overly thick in places. Too much overt understanding and emotion, but somehow I didn't mind it so much in this film.
The acting was well done. I know some people don't like Cruise, but I thought he did a good job and brought some meaning into the film. I have always thought he had expressive eyes. He plays this type of character well. Ken Watanabe plays the head Samurai that leads the rebellion. His character was very well done. The contained but somehow expressive man, who in his quiet way brings the loud American to his point of view.
This movie is supposed to show us another culture that we demised. A culture we didn't try to understand before we destroyed it. It does that all too well, and I weep for what was lost. I enjoyed this movie even in its trite moments. It will likely end up in my home movie collection. If you enjoy movies like Braveheart or Dances with Wolves this is one you shouldn't miss.