one of the most moving movies of 2003

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2004)

I love this movie. It's a brilliant, well-made, moving epic. The movie focuses on a disgraced man, Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), who has nightmares about being ordered to kill innocent American Indians. He is enlisted to help train the `modern' Japanese army to fight against the samurai, who are in rebellion. In the time he spends with the samurai, learning from them, he learns something about honor and ultimately, about himself.

The storyline is fantastic, merging great action scenes with a moving story about a man's journey to find his honor. The battle scenes are convincing and exciting; one battle scene involving a surprise attack on the samurai had my heart going. Hans Zimmer's music is bold and original; sometimes the music alone brought me to tears. I haven't heard too much of his work before (it's a travesty, I know!) but I love his work here.

The acting is top-rate. Tom Cruise is superb as Nathan Algren, embodying the conflict, pain, anguish, and honor of his character. We feel his pain and understand why he eventually decides to fight with the samurai. (His performance is one of my favorites all yearÂ…he's a deserving contender for that Golden Globe.) And Ken Watanabe is phenomenal as Katsumoto, the leader of the samurai. He plays Katsumoto with a lot of grace and nobility, and I appreciated that. Watanabe is nominated for a supporting actor Golden Globe and SAG award and he totally deserves both of them. His portrayal of Katsumoto is bold, funny, and heartbreaking. Undeniably one of my favorite movies of the year and the one that touched my heart the most, `The Last Samurai' deserves many, many awards. It made me laugh, cry (a lot), and truly understand honor. (Props also to Tom Cruise and Koyuki (Taka) for creating one of the sexiest moments in the movies this year - without the actual sex.) 10/10