The Last Samuri Movie Review
The Last Samurai, directed by Edward Zwick, starring actor Tom Cruise is based on the Japanese history during the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th. The main focus of the movie is the transformation between a thousand year old tradition of a samurai soldier using a sword as his weapon, with the introduction of modern day weapons. During this time period, the Japanese communicated with various other cultures such as those of the French, English, German, American, and many others in order to try and learn many new educational and political systems to try and unify their country. An example of this of course would be the decision of the Japanese government to put modern weapons into use. As the transformation began, this symbolized the end of an era with the begging of a new one. As the movie unfolds, not only do we see the changes that occurred during this specific time frame in the society, but we also come to learn a lot more about the Japanese culture. Captain Nathan Algren played by Tom Cruise, shows just how different their way of living and prospective of life is compared to our modern day views. Captain Algren plays a soldier who once participated in the mass killing of Native Americans, and now feels deep guilt for what he has seen and done. Despite those obstacles, he is sent to Japan under a contract to teach them the use of modern guns. Both the actors in the movie and the sets and costumes used, create a perfectly accurate and entertaining view of the Japanese culture and the end of the last samurai.
One of the most interesting aspects oh the Japanese culture which the movie greatly focuses on is their amazing form of discipline. As we watch the samurais, we see how their every aspect of life is concentrated on precision and perfection, from their razor sharp swords, to their great honor at the battlefield. As mentioned and shown in the film, whatever the Japanese people did, they did it to perfection. This of course, was an achievement thanks to their great way of concentration. In the film, when Algren tries to learn how to fight like a samurai, he is though that he needs to block out any surrounding disturbances such as people talking etc. This is something the Japanese samurais were known best...