One must look deeper into this film

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2003)

I saw THE LAST SAMURAI Christmas day, after debating whether it was worth going to see, or waiting for it to come on video. I was amazed to see a full theater. The audience was varied, from young teens to grandparents. Interesting to note, I was sitting by the aisle and did not see one person get up during this entire film.
I have to admit, I went in expecting to see a "war" film. What shocked me though, was the depth of the character development. Yes, the fight scenes were amazingly well choreographed. And as someone who doesn't usually like fight/battle scenes, often because of the jumpy camera work, I was thrilled to find these easy to follow with clean camera work, and old fashioned acting.
However, the deeper parts of this film, which have made this one of the best films of the year, are the metaphors. Throughout the movie, there are many deeper themes than fighting or honor. The metaphor of finding the perfect blossom, then actually seeing it. The purging of ones demons by finding something to believe in again. The simple pleasure of a child's smile. Or the simple "push yourself harder, find it within" theme running through this movie.
One scene which I must comment on, as it is a credit to director Zwick is the scene where Cruise has the battle armor put on by Taka (played by Koyuki). I found this scene to be very erotic, but in a subtle, classy way. Not often is this kind of scene pulled off in the movies with such taste, and with the certainity that something deeper is happening here. Definately one of the most memorable scenes I have seen recently.
Bottom line is, while THE LAST SAMURAI may not be historically accurate, but there is a depth to the characters, and many deeper meanings that can be appreciated. If you can focus on them, this movie will certainly rank up there as one of the best you have seen. If you are looking for a war movie, it will be good, but a little on the slow side.
I rated this a 9.2 out of 10