Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Hain’t seen it yet. I’m sure I will. I didn’t like the script draft I read, but that was very early on in the process, before Ed Zwick even got involved. I hope this is a great epic film that pays homage to an amazing culture rather than just strip-mining good epics that have already been made. I guess we’ll see soon enough...
Samurai kick ass. “Kill Bill’s” ass and “Master and Commander” ass, specifically. Those are both fine films, but Edward Zwick’s samurai epic outdoes them in visual beauty as well as exquisitely shot carnage that is shocking but never gratuitous.
The film opens in 1876 with Tom Cruise’s drunken Nathan Algren flashing back to his part in a massacre of Indians, even as he trades in his fading Civil War glories to shill for the Winchester rifle company. Soon Billy Conolly arrives to drag him off to Japan to help train the modern Japanese army under the command of a dandified yet slimy Tony Goldwyn in the pay of the even slimier and more dandified Omura (Masato Harada). Omura is the face of rapacious modernity, running the railroad as well as controlling the young emperor. We soon learn that their first target will be the rebellion led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), a member of the samurai class so noble he refuses to demean his honor by using guns and opposed to the modernization of Japan that he feels is costing it its soul.
Algren knows his troops are ill prepared, and we see it first hand when the well-equipped “modern troops” are easily defeated by Katsumoto’s samurai army, who are given a magnificent, Kurasawa-like entrance through a fog-shrouded forest. After putting up a brave fight, Algren is spared by Katsumoto, who takes him prisoner. It’s through his long capitivity (apparently Katsumoto’s hideout is so remote the winter has shut the mountain passes) that Algren learns the beauty of bushido and the way of life he arrived in Japan to eradicate. He also impresses his captor/hosts enough to learn swordsmanship from the kick-ass Ujio (Hiroyuki Sanada), Katsumoto’s right hand man. This consists of Algren getting a whole lotta crap beaten out of him until he gets the hang of it. Matters are made more interesting by the fact that Algren is staying in the house of Katsumoto’s beautiful sister Taka (Koyuiki), who’s husband Algren killed before being captured.
Trust me. It’s not as “Dances with Wolves” as it sounds, although relevant parallels to the American West are repeatedly drawn. Western imperialism and condescension to native people doesn’t come off too well, but neither does the greedy, newborn Japanese military industrial complex. Ken Watanabe is a revelation. His performance as the noble Katsumoto is wonderful. Personally, I like him better than both Lucky Jack AND Aragorn. Less swagger than the former and less gloomy than the latter. The character is regal, smart, loyal, handsome, and good with a sword…and my future ex-husband. I truly hope as the shiny statues are handed out he is first in line. Tom Cruise is great, and made me remember why I loved him those many years ago dancing in his tighty-whiteys in “Risky Business.” He commits to the part and is wise enough to let the rest of the cast shine in their moments. He is undeniably the star of the film, but shares the screen with a uniformly excellent supporting cast. Shout outs to Seizo Fukumoto as Algren’s aged guard who ends up being able to weild a mean sword and bow, and Shin Koyamada as Nobutada, Katsumoto’s son who endures a horrible humiliation but redeems himself in one of the many fine battle scenes. (he is incidentally first runner up for my future ex-husband.)
John Toll, the cinematographer, has done a magnificent job. While there is undoubtably special effects wizardy enhancing the scenery and battles it is somehow unobtrusive. Now, I have seen “Kill Bill” and “Master and Commander,” so I feel I’ve seen some good fight scenes this season executed by comsumate filmakers. The battles in “Last Samurai” put them to shame partly because by the time they occur director Edward Zwick (“Glory,” “Courage Under Fire”) has given us deeper characters to root for, and the realistic swordfights feel more desparate and dangerous than the hyper-stylized fights in “Kill Bill” and the yo-ho-me-lads derring-do of “Master and Commander.” While I wouldn’t want to be stumbling around the tiny ships of “Master” with twelve year old boys shooting at me, I never, ever, want a guy with a katana on a horse coming after me. (Did I mention “Samurai” has ninjas too? It has ninjas!) The theme of the modern era bringing about the tragic death of a chivalrous past is hardly new, but Zwick and his cast render it exquisitely. By the time Algren has donned armour and joined Katsumoto in a final, lopsided battle against what is now a well-trained imperial force equipped with howitzers and gatling guns, we cringe as noble warriors fall but also exult in their dying the deaths bushido requires of them. An era is ending with bloody finality on the field of battle, and the men who fall and die wouldn’t have it any other way.
Maatkare
Wow. Strong words, indeed. There’s about a dozen WGA screenings in the weeks ahead. I’m going to have to see this one soon for myself.
"Moriarty" out.
