"Dances with Wolves" meets "Shogun"

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2003)

Overall, I enjoyed the film but would have enjoyed it much, much more if they had left out the ever-present Hollywood overtones, and the inevitable sellout to the lowest common denominator.
Why is it that Hollywood assumes the average audience is too stupid to follow innovative plot lines, or that they always wants to reach closure with a simplistic ending?
There are a few parallels between "Samurai's" Capt. Nathan Algren, a disillusioned Civil War vet suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, and "Wolves'" Lt. John Dunbar, also a disillusioned Civil War vet, but for different reasons. Both try to destroy their lives and both discover new ones in the process.
There are also parallels between the gorgeous scenery of the US and of Japan, and of an intimate look into the intricate culture of both the American Indian and the Samurai. Added to it are wonderful musical scores.
Unfortunately, though the film goes to great lengths to draw parallels between the American Indian and the Samurai, it stops well short of clarifying why they were similar and why they were different.
Where "Shogun" comes into the mix is how the protagonist begins his life as captor, and becomes a hero for saving the life of the local leader.
These derivative elements aside, my main problem with the film was how aimlessly, at times, were the significant interchanges between Kastumoto and Algren. There was SO very much that could have been learned from Katsumoto's mouth, but he spent way too much time simply spouting Zen platitudes.
Another bothersome part of the film was how little the writers did to clarify the conflict between Kastumoto, the Emperor, his advisers, and the Council. What were they fighting about exactly?
There was a real Samurai revolt in 1876, but the story here shed little light on it.
Cruise gives a great performance in this role, but IMHO, it is not on a par with his performance in "Minority Report" -- an outstanding film that got totally snubbed at Oscar time.
Maybe my opinion of this film will change when I see it again on DVD. Hopefully, they will include an alternate ending -- the one that should have shown who really was the Last Samurai.