There’s an old saying: when under duress, women cry and men drink.

There’s an equally poignant observation about men, women and tears. Women will cry out of sheer joy, let alone sadness. But for a man to cry, circumstances must be so severe that anger mixes with pain so fully that there is no way to hold back those tears.

That is the result of an ominous, but fulfilling tale of post-contact Japan in The Last Samurai. On different levels, this story is about oppression, capitalism and an evolution in technological warfare. What makes this story special, however, is that it reduces all these external factors to issues and people with deeper, complex internal combustion sets a tone of hope in the midst of complete and utter doom.

And, to Tom Cruise’s credit, there are few actors who would have carried the role of Capt. Nathan Algren as well. As a mercenary in Meiji-era Japan—a time when the emperor is still hailed as divinely born—Algren is bedeviled by nightmares and flashbacks to brutal genocide of Native American tribes. When he realizes that a similar fate awaits the samurai of Japan—the “tribal” people, he says—Algren’s grip on the bottle, whiskey replaced by sake, grows firmer and needier.

Through it all, and many a fan of 19th-century war dramas has seen this in Dances With Wolves and Glory, Algren not only gains focus by being transported out of the poverty of his mind. There is a longing in his soul to connect with his conscience—and there is but one reference to God. There is a desperation, concealed from his peers and enemies, to find any semblance of reason and sense through the mayhem and oppression of tribal cultures.

But even beyond those heavy issues, Algren has hardly a friend. When he loses one of his few friends early in the story, loneliness in a such a strange land send him to the bottom of the battle.

There have been films where Westerners find themselves isolated in Japan. Success in telling a compelling, sincerely believable flow of contact between the two cultures is rare, however, as was the case of Lost in Translation. But where the film absolutely parodied Japanese and sold itself—and its few moments of communication with locals—short, Last Samurai takes the opposite end of the spectrum and absolutely surprises.

There were some puzzling flaws in Last Samurai, but John Logan’s story is so relationship-derived that the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

The Hype: Trailers for the past two months have been compelling, but hardly shocking. Tom Cruise agrees to be a mercenary. He goes to Japan. He fights the samurai. He is stricken by conscience. He joins the samurai. He becomes the Last Samurai. The hype doesn’t allow for anything truly surprising in the basic plot elements. If anything, the studio underplayed the power of this film, and wisely so. Disclaimer: From this point on, if you plan on seeing the movie, read at your own risk.

Strengths: Where to begin? From Hans Zimmer’s masterful score to John Toll’s cinematography, not an ounce of waste or overkill. Through two-and-a-half hours, the word is still economical. Logan and producer co-screenwriter Marshall Herskovitz obviously went to pains to ensure that the battle scenes and politicking would not overwhelm the guts of this story: a tenuous, intense series of begrudging relationships between Algren and his “hosts.”

I will certainly spill few beans about this story, but it’s safe to say that Algren’s skeptical, wary nature is both annoyed and intrigued by samurai lord Katsumoto. The lost ideals of Algren—discipline, compassion, loyalty, honor—surface as he is held captive without chains in the mountains with the samurai he was brought to Japan to kill. What director Edward Zwick so deftly paints on canvas is a complex world of contradictions and polarity. With so much attention to detail, Zwick certainly handled this story with a surgeon’s touch. The script is almost successfully generic with its well-crafted gameplan of cruelty, violence, humor, irony and picturesque beauty—relatively boring within the scope of a modern, Western culture, but incredibly gripping in the backdrop of Last Samurai.

Weaknesses: There are holes in this story, and that’s how it goes with cross-cultural films. Is it plausible that Katsumoto learned to speak English so well—he does have an obvious accent—while lording the countryside? Perhaps if he were a city dweller, communicating with English-speaking translators and visitors far more often. Would Taka, the wife of a samurai killed in battle by Algren, truly be so tolerant of being commanded—by her brother, Katsumoto—to provide a home for the American?

And there are certainly a few questions by some about the way Taka looks. Would a woman from the mountains—even the sister of a lord—been as tall and had such beauty? Where’s the overbite, one film watcher asked me. Granted, these are relatively petty issues, but they are real observations. The power of this film overcomes these shortcomings for me.

Should Katsumoto have spoken English far less effectively? We see him praying in the temple constantly. We know he is a student if more ways than one. Would the film had been better if Katsumoto used a translator instead? No. The communication between the lord and the American is a huge key to this story, and allows for the pace to intensify and pull back at Zwick’s hand.

I can also live with Taka’s beauty, i.e. lack of overbite. Maybe she was the first person in Japan to get braces. Maybe not. Not a problem for me.

A final question remains: Is it reasonable that a drunken mercenary would pen such a detailed journal—even sketches—of his observations of Native American tribes? It provides a tool for Katsumoto. Does it help the lord accept Algren rather than execute him? More than anything, it allows us to peer into the mind of Algren, serving as a device. Another “flaw” I can live with.

I am thankful that there was no instance of “obligatory” make-out kisses between Algren and Taka, nor the canned fistfight between Algren and Katsumoto, or more so, with one of Katsumoto’s top men, the sword master Ujio.

Best Scene: The final battle scene is the most unexpected combination of emotions I’ve felt at a movie in a long, long time. You will find few films that will make grown men struggle in their seats like this. It’s a simple fact, as I said beforehand, that women cry out of compassion, but men cry out of anger and righteousness. But I won’t give the battle scene away. Instead, I’ll point to a scene between Algren and one of the children in Taka’s household. When it becomes apparent that the next battle is inevitable, and that Algren will be at the mercy of the emperor’s army, Algren reads the child incorrectly. “He is angry at me because I killed his father,” he says to Taka. She explains the truth: “He is afraid that if you go to battle, you will die.” With that, Algren finds the boy outside on a porch, a deeply prayerful, meditative kid now troubled with fear. When the boy cries, it is so clear that Algren’s transformation—learning the language, building friendships, even taking on a new wardrobe—are heartfelt. He is no longer a soldier, but a man. It is one of the most touching scenes in any film, any era, let alone one of Industrial-era battle.

Worst Scene: The narration of a Westerner—a photographer long based in Edo (Tokyo)—opens and closes the film. His role was a bit lengthy, but vital. I didn’t quite get the need for Algren to hand the photographer a handful of his journals and books moments before the final battle. In fact, the photographer winds up watching the battle from a safe distance much like a solitary fan at the Super Bowl. I confess, however, that it still worked for me. And it would explain, in some sense, how Algren’s adventure was explained in such detail through narration.

Summary: This is a film that earned its R rating, but rarely have I ever enjoyed siding with one side of a battle so thoroughly. Ironically, Last Samurai shares some of the same basic values that made another recent film, Twilight Samurai, so effective. The two films are equally wonderful and honest about relationships. Without a doubt, I find it mesmerizing that two stories about an era 130 years ago struck such a unique chord in today’s world. It is one of the few war films—come to think of it, the only one—that I am eager to see again. Soon.

Discretionary Notes: Plenty of mayhem on the battle fields. Not much in the way of cursing, and certainly no sex. Though the fight scenes could have been far more grotesque, they were certainly brutal and long—and beautifully choreographed by Zwick. Economical even in battle.

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Comments
this very good movies, and i like an actrees who act as "taka". ken watanabe was very good actor, and af course my brother tom cruise is the last samuraiPosted by dienzhu kobayashi on February 11, 2004 12:12 AM I like the Last Samurai movie... a lot...Posted by Natalie Shane on February 5, 2005 2:26 PM i enjoyed this film a lot. Tom Cruise being an arogant american played the part of one very well. the fact that the usual influx of famous places like fuji mountain (which did show, but only for a second) which come with japanese movies made in hollywood, were not there, was a relief for me. the worst scene tho was at the end. the disrespect shown for the emporer by the villan was unbelievable. but this is definately a movie i enjoyed.Posted by paul on October 4, 2005 5:19 PM

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