The Last Samurai (2003)
The Last Samurai is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Ken Watanabe in the title role, with Tom Cruise, who also co-produced, as a soldier-turned-samurai who befriends him, and Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki, and Shin Koyamada in supporting roles. Tom Cruise portrays an American captain of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in 19th century Japan. The film’s plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and the Westernization of Japan by foreign powers, though in the film the United States is portrayed as the primary force behind the push for Westernization.
It is also influenced by the stories of Jules Brunet, a French Imperial Guard sub-lieutenant who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War; Philip Kearny, a United States Army (Union Army) major general and French Imperial Guard soldier, notable for his leadership in the American Civil War, who fought against the Tututni tribe in the Rogue River Wars in Oregon; and, to a lesser extent, by Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army.
The Last Samurai grossed a total of $456 million at the box office and received mixed reviews, with praise for the acting and visuals but criticism for some of its portrayals. It was nominated for several awards, including four Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two National Board of Review Awards.
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Plot.
In 1876, former U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren, a bitter alcoholic traumatized by the atrocities he committed during the American Indian Wars, is approached by his former commanding officer Colonel Bagley to train the newly created Imperial Japanese Army for a forward-thinking Japanese businessman, Omura, who intends to use the army to suppress a Samurai-headed rebellion against Japan’s new emperor. Despite his hatred of Bagley for his role in the Indian Wars, an impoverished Algren takes the job for the money, and is accompanied to Japan by his old friend, Sergeant Zebulon Gant. Upon arriving, Algren meets Simon Graham, a British translator knowledgeable about the samurai. Algren finds the Imperial soldiers are little more than conscripted peasants with no discipline and shoddy training. While teaching them to shoot, Algren is informed that the samurai are attacking
one of Omura’s railroads; Omura sends the army there, despite Algren’s protests that they are not ready. The battle is a disaster; the undisciplined conscripts are routed, and Gant is killed. Algren fights to the last before he is surrounded; expecting to die, he is taken prisoner when samurai leader Katsumoto decides to spare him. Algren is taken to Katsumoto’s village. While he is poorly treated at first, he eventually gains the samurai’s respect and grows close to Katsumoto. Algren overcomes his alcoholism and guilt, learns the Japanese language and culture, and is trained in the art of kenjutsu. He develops sympathy for the samurai, who are upset that the pace of modern technology has eroded the traditions of their society. Algren and Taka, Katsumoto’s sister and the widow of a samurai killed by Algren, develop an unspoken affection for each other.
Reception.
The film achieved higher box office receipts in Japan than in the United States. Critical reception in Japan was generally positive. Tomomi Katsuta of The Mainichi Shinbun thought that the film was “a vast improvement over previous American attempts to portray Japan”, noting that director Edward Zwick “had researched Japanese history, cast well-known Japanese actors and consulted dialogue coaches to make sure he didn’t confuse the casual and formal categories of Japanese speech.” Katsuta still found fault with the film’s idealistic, “storybook” portrayal of the samurai, stating: “Our image of samurai is that they were more corrupt.” As such, he said, the noble samurai leader Katsumoto “set my teeth on edge.”