THE LAST SAMURAI is for many of us a Sleeper of a movie. The media mania was so high at the release time in the theaters that it seemed by the trailers that this was another massively expensive Epic riding on the Big Name Star vehicle. Sadly, I avoided seeing this beautiful film on the big screen: now I wish I had not been so influenced by the hype. THE LAST SAMURAI is at its core a very tender movie, a story of men overcoming their personal demons, of the power of allegiance to ideals, of forgiveness of the past and holding on to honor, of growth of the human spirit and soul.1876, and America lands on the beautiful islands of Japan at the beckon of the Emperor to "Westernize" the country, and the army in particular, to stamp out the historical presence of the Samurai, a band of dedicated, gracefully trained warriors whose purpose was to defend the Emperor - a man believed to be the earthly manifestation of holiness. The military men sent to perform this transformation are the guilt-ridden, alcoholic Civil War Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) and his commanding officer Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn). The two attempt to transform the inept army of the emperor's spokesman but when they encounter in battle the Samurai warriors and their leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) they are naturally beaten. Algren, through his native skills as a fighting man, is captured by the Samurai and is forced to live by their customs in the house of the wife Taka (Koyuki) of a man Algren had killed. Most of the film is concerned with the gradual spiritual awakening of Algren, his commitment to the Samurai principles of battle and of life and Director Edward Zwick handles this quietly and with great dignity by exploring the growing bond among Algren, Katsumoto, and Taka. The ultimate confrontational battle between the last of the Samurai and the newly Westernized troops of the Emperors' advisors is not only epic in scale but also mythic in values.
The entire cast is excellent and a large cast this is! But the kudos that have been awarded Watanabe have for some reason not fallen to Cruise. They are both excellent as are Tony Goldwyn, Koyuki, Timothy Spall, etc. The cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful, the musical score is thoughtfully eloquent, and the BIG scenes are a spectacularly Grand as the intimate scenes are extraordinarily tender. Sometimes a great film passes us by because of the megalomania of the media hype overpowering the actual film. Give this one a try in your home and see that it is better than you'd expected.
