The Last Samurai (2003)
Bringing Japan to western audiences.
Presentation:
Tom Cruise is one of the few reliably bankable blockbuster stars today for a reason. In every role he commands a certain screen presence and does the same thing as always here, even exuding more charisma than Ken Watanabe. As a period piece it’s quite beautiful. The war aspects have an epic scale and are immersive to the experience, but spiritually the film is more of a drama on the level of Dune or Lawrence of Arabia. A white foreigner enters a strange exotic land and assimilates with their culture and become a leader. It’s still done in an interesting way here, though definitely doesn’t have the same gravitas. Instead, the film has a more mainstream Hollywood tone with its melodrama. This is a film that should appreciate by the masses, but may lack the substance if you expect an intense thought provoking experience.
Conclusion:
This film definitely accomplishes much of what it intends to do. It makes us appreciate foreign culture and exposes baseless western biases, but in some ways fails to offer more as a result of its safe narrative. This could be one of the titular films to bring Japanese culture to western audiences, except I think the Shogun series is even more powerful. Still, a recipe for success that doesn’t disappoint with lots of great character dynamics, some being more heartwarming than you would expect.
Recommendations
War isn’t about who’s right, rather who’s left.