REEL JAPAN

Score: 7/10

The paradox of THE LAST SAMURAI and the two adaptations of SHOGUN: If you don’t know Japanese history, they intrigue and they invite you in. If you do know Japanese history, these pseudo-histories disappoint. There is nothing in them which is as interesting as the reality. Like SHOGUN, THE LAST SAMURAI runs the risk of misleading us about the realities of Japanese history. Specifically: Meiji-era Japan, a time when that nation underwent more dramatic change than almost any place has in human history. If you want the real history, you will need to either read books or watch the many films and television shows produced INSIDE Japan. The Japanese love their history; repeating it and dissecting it on screen is a national pastime, almost a ritual. 

Tom Cruise has a talent for carrying every film he headlines. He may not be as charismatic as Hollywood’s old guard (Harris, Connery, McQueen), but the camera loves him and his emotional range just about covers it. Here he is an alcoholic, disillusioned veteran haunted by the jobs the American army gave him out West. There is a little bit of John Dunbar as template from Kevin Costner’s DANCES WITH WOLVES. Cruise also emits some of the vibes of his wounded veteran in BORN ON THE 4th OF JULY, but the wounds are just internal this time. Cruise later made another historical war film, playing General von Stauffenberg in the WWII biopic VALKYRIE. Because VALKYRIE cleaves to its historical truth but tells an equally stunning tale of stoic fortitude, it is the superior film. 

The late Billy Connolly, iconic Scottish comedian and actor, as beloved in the UK as Robin Williams was in America appears in a supporting role, but sporting an Irish accent, a common sound in the 19th century American army. Timothy Spall, shortly before his star-making turns as Harry Potter villain Peter Pettigrew and years before his Cannes triumph as William Turner, dials into his most “capital” style as a slimy but intellectually curious creature of the British Empire. Sosuke Ikematsu shines as the young nephew of Watanabe’s character. He would go on to appear in many productions as a superior child and adult actor. Hiroyuki Sanada, who would later star in the 2023 SHOGUN adaptation, does much here with just looks and grimaces. 

You can be forgiven if the idealistic Japanese mountain village reminds you of The Shire where the hobbits lived, because it was filmed in New Zealand just a few years after the LORD OF THE RINGS was captured there. John Logan as screenwriter and Hans Zimmer (score) reunite from their GLADIATOR days, not coincidentally bringing a similar stoic vibe. You hear a lot about duty and zen or zen-like focus in both movies. 

Director, Ed Zwick, made one of the great war films of all time: GLORY, about the Massachusetts 54th Union army regiment of Black soldiers in the American Civil War, so Zwick has plenty of experience summoning his heroes to brave overwhelming odds. The second and third acts land particularly well allowing the movie to hit all of these predicted and predictable emotional touchstones. The script places a mostly fictional American hero in the center of a tragic Japanese civil war. The British equivalent might be LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, a film with more historicity. THE LAST SAMURAI is a slick Hollywood production but one where none of the actors or creatives are phoning it in. It made a star out of Ken Watanabe, and we can all be grateful for that. 

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