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 The
ancient and modern worlds clash spectacularly in The Last Samurai,
the latest film from writer/director Edward Zwick
(Shakespeare in Love, Glory). Tom Cruise
plays Captain Nathan Algren, a conflicted Civil War veteran who drowns
his sorrows in whiskey. He agrees to travel to Japan to train the
Emperor’s army in a fight against the last of the country’s
Samurai warriors, led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe).
After being forced to lead the troops into battle before they are
ready, Algren is captured and nearly killed by the Samurai. He is
taken back to their village as a prisoner and, as the Samurai wait
out the winter and prepare for a final assault, Algren begins to better
understand his enemy – and himself.
Although the themes of Samurai are not new (many critics
have called the film a Japanese Dances with Wolves), nor
the screenplay cliché free, the film does manage to grab you.
The acting is good -- Cruise is convincing as Algren and Watanabe
is mesmerizing. The film also feels very authentic, from the scenery
to the costumes to the Samurai’s spirituality. And although
the plot lines are tied up a little too tidily and the antagonists
are a little too one dimensional, the story does resonate. In all,
the lessons of The Last Samurai last well beyond the final
credits, making it an epic worth seeing.
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