A Story of Purification through Enlightenment

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2008)

The only Tom Cruise movie that I can look past the fact that Tom Cruise is playing in it, because it is unlike any role he has ever taken. We are thrown into the story of Captain Nathan Algren, an alcoholic foot soldier whose regret can only be shadowed by the amount of whiskey he drinks. Captain Algren is recruited by the Japanese Army to train their soldiers after the fall of the Samurai way of life. Algren agrees, only to be captured by Katsumoto, the commander and chief of the remaining samurai. Algren learns to love the people who have captured him as he stays through the winter, waiting for the snow on the passes to melt. This movie was the first movie that I considered to be on the top of my top ten, because of the way the ending made me feel (I still cry to this day). 9/10 stars for an amazing storyline, believable characters/development, and beautifully written dialogue.