Year: 2003
Filming: Color
Length: 154
minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Inspirational/War
Maturity: R
(for graphic battle sequences)
Cast: Tom Cruise (Capt. Nathan Algren), Ken
Watanabe (Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto), Koyuki
(Taka), Tony Goldwyn (Col. Bagley), Masato Harada (Omura), Timothy
Spall (Simon Graham), Shin Koyamada (Nobutada), Shichinosuke
Nakamura (Emperor Meiji)
Director: Edward Zwick
Personal Rating: 3
Stars
***
Beautiful Japanese
mountains. Beautiful Japanese actress. Confusing piece-meal of English and
Japanese dialogue. Confusing blood-and-guts battle sequences. Some decent spiritual overtones. Throw in a greasy-haired
Tom Cruise searching for his identity whilst guzzling sake and you have a
pretty good summary of this very mixed, though very memorable big-budget
on-location period piece.
The story opens in
the America not long after the Civil War where we first meet Captain Nathan
Algren, played by our darling Tom. Acting as a sharpshooter at a circus
attraction, he is manipulated by the masses as a wartime hero but disillusioned
by the atrocities he witnessed and took part in during the course of his military
career. He soon gets a new opportunity to change his surroundings when his old
commanding officer, the cynical Colonel Bagley, offers him a position in the
Imperial Japanese Army which has asked the U.S. Army to help them modernize and
suppress an uprising of the traditional warrior class, The Samurai.
Ambushed by the
Samurai in a forest, Algren’s forces are annihilated and he is captured by the
legendary shogun, Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto. Wounded and suffering from alcohol
withdrawals, Nathan is put in the custody of Katsumoto’s beautiful sister,
Taka, whose husband had been killed by Algren in the battle. Although she initially
forces herself to care for him even though she does not want to, she eventually
takes pity on him, and he responds by asking her forgiveness for the pain he
has caused her.
Gradually, Algren learns
respect for the Samurai way of life and learns their methods of fighting and
spirituality. Yes, we do wonder how Teriyaki Tom becomes Mega Buddhist/ Super Samurai
so quickly, but we’ll just let that one slide. Basically, before you know it,
he’s serving as the shogun’s body guard companion when he rides into Tokyo to
try to reason with Emperor Meiji and convince him not to proceed with his
policy of disarming the Samurai and robbing them of their traditional way of
life. Instead, he is almost captured,
and his son Nabutada is killed.
Fearing for his
friends and the things he has come to hold dear, Algren agrees to help lead the
last samurais in a desperate last stand against the modernized imperial army
with their superior weaponry and tactics. He successfully beats off several
imperial attempts, but then the Gatling guns are brought in by the other side
to combat the raw courage and flawless fighting skills of the individual
warriors. This results in a fight to death for the future of Japan and a
conflict between the allure of the material and depth of the spiritual.
The Last Samurai isn’t the worst movie
in the world, but it definitely lacks in some major levels with regards to
clarity. The overall feel is meandering and hard to follow, making me feel as
if I were hovering over the story rather than getting into it. The makers
admitted that they were trying to make this more of a visual picture than a
dialogue-driven one, and the result leaves the viewer admiring the gorgeous
on-location shots of Japan but confused as to what’s happening in the plot.
What little English dialogue there is usually
winds up being either out of place for the setting or in Japanese with English
subtitles. Not only do things get extremely hard to follow as a result, but
also monotonous in pace. The long, drawn out scenes of Algren’s captivity among
the Samurai could probably have been cut down by half, as could the oft times cartoonish
martial arts fights, especially the one in which Katsumoto’s son is killed.
Tom Cruise, in my
opinion, is a pretty lousy actor who sticks out like a sore thumb wherever he
shows up. He’s just obnoxious to watch most of the time, especially in the
first half of this when his bad attitude is at its zenith. His character, and
most of the others, don’t seem filled out enough for us to develop a real
attachment to any of them. I will admit that the fact he did most of his own
stunts and martial artistry is rather impressive, even if the fight scenes were
generally overblown.
Two emotional scenes
I would say Cruise pulls off okay are the final doomed charge of the Samurai
and his audience with the emperor who decides his fate. He has a very intense
expression the whole time, like someone holding back tears, and does a good job
generating that sort of emotion in the popcorn-munching throng at the theatre.
The Samurai sword sequence at the end is reminiscent of Braveheart, and a nice
touch considering the emphasis on the sword being seen as a warrior’s soul,
strong yet flexible, cutting yet ornate. Also, they were the symbols of the
Samurai’s power that the Imperial government was literally trying to take away.
There are some
pretty bloody battles, but nothing that can’t be easily fast-forwarded for
those who wish to do so. Other than that, there is really nothing morally
reprehensible in this film. Some people have been deeply disturbed by the fact
that Nathan helps Katsumoto commit kill himself on the battlefield. But Nathan
repeatedly prevents his friend from committing suicide throughout the film, and
is obviously not in favor of it.
He only takes part
in the act when they’re both laying wounded on the battlefield and Katsumoto
begs him to assist, to save his honor. His actions may not be commendable but
it understandable, and reminiscent of the suicides that take place in Quo Vadis. The suicide also sets the
stage for a moving moment when the imperial soldiers all kneel down out of
respect for Katsumoto as Algren cradles the dead samurai in his arms,
surrounded by slain warriors.
One of the
highlights of the film, for me at least, is Koyuki, a young Japanese actress
with a lovely face and graceful demeanor who plays Taka. Like Murron in Braveheart, she symbolizes of all the
highest ideals that the main characters fight for, and even the land itself.
Her honor, compassion, modesty, strength, and beauty epitomize the best aspects
of the Samurai and the reason they fight so hard to preserve their code of
living. Thank heavens, and finally in keeping with the right mood, there are no
sex flings in a grass hut to be found. Indeed, when Nathan spies Taka washing
her hair in a nearby spring, she modestly tucks up her robe to cover her bare
shoulders.
Spiritually, there
are a few interesting aspects. One is the redemption Nathan finds through his
time with the Samurai, who are sworn to help people “find their souls.” In
America, it is inferred that Algren “sold his soul” and become nothing more
than a shell after participating in brutal massacres that haunt his dreams and
cause him drown his memories with alcohol. His role as a marksman in a circus
side-show is symbolic of how low he has sunk. When offered to the position in
Japan, he thinks that training the imperial forces will be nothing more than
another job to earn some much needed cash and burn off his pent-up energy and
frustration.
But providence,
though not directly mentioned, seems very much in control, and Algren finds
himself redeemed through defeat and capture. Taka, almost like a guardian angel
of sorts, puts aside her own feelings and tenderly nurses him in his hour of
need. This kindness brings out his better side and inspires him to apologize
for killing her husband. She not only forgives him, but also sees more clearly
the goodness in him.
When he joins the
Samurai cause, she lovingly dresses him in her husband’s armor, as a symbol of
his transformation. The follow scene of him receiving a Samurai sword from
Katsumoto and riding into battle to face much larger forces is unfailingly
inspiring. Another moving aspect is the
way Taka’s young sons come to love Algren, even though they knew he killed
their father. They seem to take the attitude of their mother: “He did his duty,
and you did your duty.”
The iconic scene
where he tries to go up against a Samurai in the village and is beat silly
basically demonstrates how weak he is spiritually. Later, when he is allowed to
learn martial arts, it is a symbol that he is finally on the road to finding
his soul through the help of others. Yes, this is Eastern religious belief to
the max, interconnecting the body-spirit dynamic, and may be rather foreign to
Christian audiences. But looking at it broadly, we do believe that the body is
the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Hence, there is some connection at that.
“I was never
much of a church-goer”, Algren records in his journal, “but there is something
timeless about this place, this people.” He eventually comes to embrace the
Samurai arts of warfare, artistry, healing, and shamanism, and determines to “fight
for the things I love.” This is interesting, if not completely fair to
traditional Christianity. There is a tendency in modern Hollywood to glorify
exotic spirituality, whether it be Buddhism or Druidism or Islam or what have
you. The proponents of these religions and indigenous or Eastern cultures are
always shown in a rosy light, while Christianity and western practices are
portrayed as being either fanatical or hypocritical.
This is just
stupid considering how deep a faith and a culture we westerners have. If we
have rats in our numbers, well, so do other religions and cultures! Why make
Christianity look dumb? We have profound spiritual practices, resonant rituals,
and deep meditations. And why make the gifts of Christendom look worthless? We
have as rich of a heritage as any.
As in the Highlands
of Scotland prior the last Jacobite Rebellion, Japan’s traditional system at
the time period this movie this film is set in was indeed in need of an overhaul.
While the code of the Samurai may have been admirable for the most part, many
individual shoguns used their position to run something of a protection racket,
and the common people often lived in the terror of their corruption. Hitherto, Japan
had been completely cut off from the outside world, and the common people were
deprived of modern convenience. All those who wanted to modernize were not
arrogant wretches who had lost their souls, as is indicated. It is noteworthy
to point out that, viewed from a different perspective, Nathan Algren is
actually a traitor to his own flag.
That having been
said, there is a natural sympathy that we all have for a simpler way of life,
built on a reasonable foundation. The real message of the film comes down to
this: In efforts to modernize, can we go so far as to destroy the truly worthy
things in life, such as the intimacy of community, a sense of the spiritual, a
respect for the earth, and appreciation for the aesthetic, putting quality
before quantity? At the end of the film, Emperor Meiji is shown as striking a
balance between old and new, timeless and innovative, by accepting the sword of
“The Last Samurai” and allowing Algren to return to his “spiritual place” and “spiritual
mate” in the mountains.
So while this
movie had its elements of confusion, dullness, historical incongruity, and pure
ridiculousness, it also had it’s moments of depth and beauty. I may not rush
out to watch it again any time soon unless I’m learning Japanese, but I think
it was worth a viewing for anyone interested in the issues of international
cultures and religions and the ongoing efforts to share, find balance, seek the
truth, and fight for the things we love.
| Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) gives Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) a Samurai sword |
