A Dying Honor from the East

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2004)

Like that of Braveheart, The Patriot, and Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai centers around the struggle a minority faces in standing up for its way of life.
The year is 1876 and thanks to Commodore Perry, the island nation of Japan discovers the "modern" world. The emperor of the great nation, in an effort to modernize his country and bring about an industrial revolution, brings in western influence. But this influence is comprised of self-interested greedy parties who care nothing for Japan's people. As a result, the emperor is misguided into disbanding the devout Samurai, who have protected the country for a thousand years. They are asked to give up their way of life and step aside to western influence so that a new unified militaristic army of Japan may be formed.
In charge of the task to train this army is Captain Algren (Tom Cruise). We discover Algren to be a man suffering from horrible nightmares over his actions against the American indians. He spends most of his time in the bottle to escape his self-torture and guilt. He agrees to be privately hired for the Japan assignment because he knows nothing else than war and that seems to be what he is fit for.
Algren begins training the rudimentary new army of Japan but soon finds himself prematurely ordered to march them into battle against the Samurai. The impending defeat of the untrained soldiers comes as no surprise as the Samurai sweep over them in a furious wave of violence. But Algren's life is spared by the leader of the Samurai, Katsumoto, whose sees him as a remarkable warrior and the physical manifestation of a vision he encountered.
Algren begins to undergo a transformation as he is kept prisoner by the Samurai. Living with them, he begins to see the tribal people for who they are and respects and admires their honor, kindness, discipline, and perfection as a way of life. He eventually is welcomed into their confidence and begins training in their ways.
When the time arrives for Algren to choose whose side he is going to fight for, whether he is an man of the west or the east, Algren chooses that of the Samurai. He does so as an act of redemption and because he realizes the importance in defending what you believe. Despite the enormous odds against the tribal people, the Samurai are excited for the chance to make their stand and embrace their way of life to die with honor.
Algren and Katsumoto lead the Samurai into battle to die a glorious death, as all Samurai, save Algren, are defeated by the new army of Japan (hence the title). The weapons of the old (swords, bows and arrows) are defeated by that of the new (cannons, rifles, machine guns). And in one of the more dramatic and heartfelt sad endings, we see the bravery and dignity of a simple culture mowed down by the technological cowardice of the complex world. The question this ending poses is whether it is more honorable or foolhardy to fight for a way of life, even in the face of an imminent and gruesome death. I will let you decide.