In My Top 10 Movies Of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (6 October 2016)

I love this film. Everything about it is spectacular. The film follows the story of Captain Nathan Alrgen (Tom Cruise) who is an American war veteran in the late 1800's and is hired to train Japanese soldiers how to use guns to quell a rebellion by a group of Samurai. The films follows his experiences in Japan. The plot is loosely based on the real life Satsuma rebellion of the Samurai. One of my favourite things about The Last Samurai is the score by Hans Zimmer and it truly compliments the film in its greatest scenes. I do admit I may enjoy this film more than others as I do have a love and keen interest of Japanese culture. The film does a brilliant job of showing Japanese people and culture in a respectful light and paints a brilliant picture of a Japan struggling to find the balance between becoming a modern country and also keeping their identity. Ken Watanabe is brilliant support in the form of Samurai leader Katsumoto but I would say Tom Cruises character and indeed is character progression is the star of the show. Haunted by events prior to the film, the story follows Cruise as he slowly settles in to the Japanese way of life and while originally finding their customs strange and foreign, he learns to love the Japanese way of life and grows to find peace in it. The real life Engyoji Temple is brilliantly used and the director makes great use of the beautiful Japanese scenery. Timothy Spall does a very good job as a supporting character and also as a narrator and gives one of the best openings to a film I have heard which I will repeat: "They say Japan was made by the sword. They say the old Gods dipped a coral blade into the ocean, then pulled it out again. Four perfect drops fell back into the water, forming the islands of Japan." I can't recommend this film enough. The battle scenes are epic and very well choreographed. The character of Algren is initially dislikeable because of the actions of his past but his redemption through his love of Japan is very relatable. Give this film a watch, you won't regret it.