Gets a lot of it right

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2019)

The Last Samurai (plural). What to say about this film? In terms of historical accuracy, it gets some of it right, but changes some of it or omits it completely. In the script of the movie, the army is eventually reformed and equipped by Germans/Prussians. It seems American movie makers can't stand not to be in the spot light, so they changed that.
The nobility is also cranked up to 11. In some way, it works (especially with Zimmer's soundtrack), but of course it's the old trick of pulling your heartstring.
I do forgive most of that though, because at least the movie uses mostly Japanese actors, involves the language and some of the culture. What's kind of misappropriate in my opinion is the quasi-depiction of the Samurai as a mirror image of Indians/Native Americans. They may have shared a sense of courage and may even share some ancestry (Aino), but that seemed like an unnecessary move.
In the end, I feel the movie still works though, even if it changes some facts for the American(?) audience and even though we get a hero with plot armour. In my opinion, Cruise should have died at the end, but I get it, they needed someone to bring the Emperor the message. Still, it may have been more powerful if that would have been Katsumoto's remaining family. But similar movies sometimes do a lot worse that way (47 Ronins anyone?), so I can ultimately live with it.
I recommend anyone though to read about the history of the events and to learn more about Japan in general.