The Empire Never Ended

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 2004)

Spoilers. Read only if you've already seen the film.
My summary line was a favorite expression of the late sci-fi writer, Philip K. Dick. He used it in reference to the late Roman Empire, which instituted a materialistic Christianity from the Apostle Peter. Before that, there were numerous Christianities that rejected materialism, such as the Gnostics. The Romans prevailed, and their legacy to us is materialistic philosophy, hence "the Empire never ended".
This has considerable bearing on Last Samurai. The climactic scene involves dozens of samurai in traditional armour being mowed down by a Gatling gun, manned by westernized Japanese artillerymen. It was quite an amazing spectacle of the impotence of the meta-physical samurai, with their trust in spiritual tradition and virtue, to compete with progressively minded Government forces in the Age of Progress.
On another note, the Americans are miscast here. It was the Prussians who initiated the academic study of war, and thereafter consulted on the modernization of Japan's army. Germans and the Japanese are two peoples of the same soul - give them their movie! Who wants to see Tom Cruise anyway? He gives you his own [somewhat interesting] personality, not the character.
7/10