ONE AND LAST SAMURAI

Rating: Null/10 (16 February 2004)

What do you expect from this movie?A good action?It's up yo what you mean.Scenes of war hold the glory,the big cinema feeling,the passion of the things to die for.But does it show the aesthetic of the samurai sword challenges?In most of the movie I don't think so.The angles director uses are so close to reflect the ballet side of these challenges.But as a war scene as I said it will be great loss not to pay attention.Besides action,do you expect a deep side of Japan and Samurai culture?If you do,don't!The scenes to show these cultures are more like a film called 'TODAY'S LESSON OF JAPAN'.The film is shallow and distant about this.I think director didn't pay the attention needed to this area unlike Tom Cruise did.
But if you want to watch a movie as it is,it is really good.But I think the lack of these two sides blocked its way to Academy Awards Nominations.And there are a lot of clishes.The speeches from the diary of Nathan Algren,the love of Nathan Algren.And it's so strange that in his first battle Nathan kills a big amount of Samurai and Katsumoto speaks his last words in English when Nathan knows Japanese as his mother tongue.Also the angles director uses are so ordinary.If the final battle scene wasn't that successful,it would be very hard to build the glorification of the heroes.I think instead of these,he should prefer more complicated shots with wide angles while the music of Hans Zimmer is already well-matched with this kind of scenes.
This movie is a certain proof of a thing;Tom Cruise is a great actor.With Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada they are a great trio but in most of the movie all the weight is on the shoulders of Tom Cruise.This one shows why this guy is an actor worth 20 million dollars.
When it comes to ethical side,'Last Samurai' is very hard to analyze.First it shows the pangs of conscience because of the things done to redskins but then it doesn't take a step back about representing Nathan Algren as the white hero man in land of strangers.He gives the courage to Katsumoto and shows the right way to the emperor.But about ironies,it uses the the fact,that Nathan Algren regains his dignity,which he lost in a war,in another war,very well.On the other hand I think there is no success about building the irony between two cultures,two times.It would be better if the director didn't take a side between new age technology and Samurai culture.What will be the benefit of culture when it is standing in the way of prosperity of people and development of the country?Doesn't a culture become alive to keep the status quo and the realities of its time strong?What would it be when the time changes?
Finally, I think this movie is to watch just as it is.If you achieve to keep your 'classic-wanter' feelings,it will be a great cinema feast worth 100 million dollars.