Looking back on The Last Samurai, I’ve come to the conclusion it’s one of those films that – despite all the flaws – you still love. Most of the time films are weighted down by their faults, which The Last Samurai is to a degree, but in this case there is something at the core of The Last Samurai which always seems to suck me into the world, warts and all. It’s a beautiful film – visually, musically and spiritually. It has a heart that most Hollywood epics lack, and that is probably why years later I still look back on The Last Samurai fondly.
The story, about a white man who ends up fighting for the samurai he was hired to kill, could easily have your eyes rolling; typical ‘American comes to save the day’ type thing. But instead, America actually is the bad guy in this movie and Cruise’s character, Nathan Algren, is the one who rebels against imperialist expansion. Granted, I do think the movie took it too far at times, and there is an obligatory ‘bad guy American’ character who felt like he was dropped in just so that Nathan have an opposite character as his nemesis, but overall I was still glad that they didn’t make it feel too much like Algren was going to save all the Samurai by himself.
Instead, The Last Samurai turns out to be more of a spiritual journey for Algren. Instead of him being a heroic do-no-evil hero, he is actually a drunk with no reason to live. When he is captured by the samurai and taken to their village, he begins a journey of self realisation and redemption. He begins to find inner peace, he discovers purpose. The audience very closely identifies with Algren’s journey because the spirituality and sense of harmony he seeks is something that everyone can relate to. I think that is why I can watch The Last Samurai so many times; I feel like I know what he is looking for, and I see it in the samurai way of life. There is defiantly a very spiritual aspect to the film, and it’s the strongest, best developed part – the heart and core – of The Last Samurai. I also really loved the character of Katsumoto, both because of the amazing performance from Ken Watanabe, and because I really liked how Katsumoto and Algren mirrored each other. It’s buried deep in the subtext, but if you look closely there is a very close relationship between the two characters – an ‘understanding’ – which was very well developed.
But what would a samurai epic be without battles and katanas? The Last Samurai features some fantastic sword play and battle sequences throughout. They are like intense torrents of adrenaline and emotion that carry you away. They are fantastically shot and you really get an appreciation of how much skill the samurai had in battle. The choreography is wonderful, and nothing is hidden with editing. You can tell they put a lot of work into the battles, and it shows. I did think there was a certain ninja battle that was very awkwardly inserted, as if they felt there hadn’t been enough action in the last 15 minutes, but beyond that the rest of the battles have meaning and purpose behind them.
The entire film is great eye candy, though, and everything looks breathtaking and stunningly shot. Beautiful scenery, excellent sets and all around superb production values in everything from costumes to props. I simply cannot fail to mention the incredible Hans Zimmer score which perfectly embodies everything about the film. The Last Samurai simply would not be the same without the score Zimmer came up with. It gives a rushing energy to action scenes and a gentle touch to the quite ones.
Unfortunately, the ending has to be mentioned. Everything was going great, even the final battle was a fulfilling spectacle and finale. But when the last samurai are all charging on their horses during their last stand until they are mowed down by the chain guns, things simply went downhill and you could tell the work of Hollywood producers was to blame. First of all, what are the chances that, of the 400 samurai who started the battle, the very last two happened to be Algren and Katsumoto? I mean they are the only ones alive on the battlefield. I found this was an incredible stretch. Furthermore, I thought it should have ended with Algren taking his life along with Katsumoto – representing Algren’s acceptance of the samurai way of life and finally finding his inner peace- because things keep going downhill for the rest of the film.
After Algren somehow makes it out alive, he goes to the Emperor and actually convinces him that the samurai way of life is something worth preserving and he kicks the American imperialist pigs out of the country, as if to justify to the audience all the samurai dying. And then Algren goes to live with the samurai and finally the film ends. It really should have ended 15 minutes before with Algren killing himself with Katsumoto instead of catering to the lowest denominator and making a few people who didn’t understand the themes of the film feel good when they walk out of the theatre. It’s unfortunate, but the ending of The Last Samurai does not live up to the rest of the film and kind of goes against a lot of what it worked to build.
But despite the blunder of an ending, The Last Samurai is still a movie I’ve come to very much appreciate and enjoy seeing even after its release all the way back in 2003. It has a heart to it - a spirituality - that most Hollywood fare completely lacks. There are flaws and problems, and you can tell that it didn’t entirely escape the clutches of Hollywood producers, but even so the core of the film remains intact. Algren’s journey is beautiful and spiritual - one that you find yourself relating to. And on top of that are some excellent sword battles, stunning photography, and one of the best film scores in recent memory. I guess the best way to sum The Last Samurai up is to say it’s a bit like the other person in a relationship; despite all their warts and flaws, you still love them.
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