The Last Samurai (DVD)

By the standards of modern Hollywood, Last Samurai is excellent. Set in the 19th Century, Tom Cruise plays an American soldier, haunted by memories of the atrocities he took part in against native americans (Sand Creek?), whereupon he accepts an assignment to Japan, to put down a supposed rebellion by a band of Samurai who have gone to war against the Emperor's troops, believing that they are in fact serving the Emperor in doing so.

Cruise's character is captured, and ends up associating with the Samurai, in a plot that is reminiscient of Dances With Wolves, but manages to avoid feeling overly hackneyed and stale. Cruise is suicidal as a result of being unable to come to terms with his past actions, and his seeking of death in battle allows him to rediscover a sense of honour via the code of the Samurai, ultimately fighting alongside them against the modernised Japanese army who are overseen by Cruise's despised ex-commanding officer.

The film is set to the backdrop of Japan's sharp transition from feaudalist isolationism to modern industrailisation, and this theme is colourfully demonstrated in the contrast between the Samurai's ancient warring practices and ideology and that of the westernised, technogically advanced Imperial troops that they face.

The plot is simplistic without being stupid, and whilst it can be a bit saccharine this is Hollywood we are talking about after all. The portrayal of the Japanese people, both the traditionalist Samurai and their westernised counterparts, is uniformly respectful (machiavellian villains of the piece notwithstanding), although the film is primarily focussed on espousing traditionalist Zen Buddhist/warrior-code values over those of untrammelled capitalism and subservience to the west. It is always refreshing to see a mainstream US film that is willing to take an even-handed approach to American historical influence overseas, and Last Samurai does a good job of presenting a picture of a nation in a period of turbulent flux, caught between its time-honoured past and the urgent demand for social change, even if it does feel the need to frame its heroics around a photogenic American star.

The acting is of a high standard, including the perpetually wounded performance put in by Cruise, whilst the cimematography is frequently stunning, both in capturing the country's natural/historic beauty and some excellent battle scenes. One sees mounted Samurai thundering towards the screen in the murky forest light, clad in terrifying masked helmets and looking like hellish creations from another world, whilst another battle sees a breathless charge with smords and armour against Maxim machine guns, rifle fusillades and heavy artillery across open ground. It's arresting stuff, like some oriental take on the civilisational car-crash of ancient-combat-meets-modern-industrialis​ed-warfare that one immediately associates with the First World War, presented in a visceral yet almost poetic fashion.

The Last Samurai is ultimately a popcorn film, but it is one that manages to be beautiful, arresting and not-unintelligent in addition to being entertaining. Hollywood actually got it right for once.