The Last Samurai

This is a surprisingly sensitive film about the atrocities and senselessness of war, about honor and human bonds. Tom Cruise is Nathan Algren, a disgruntled American army captain who fought with Custer against the Native Americans. Having learned something about the humanity of the indiginous people and witnessing (and participating in) the killing of innocent women and children, he is tormented and defeated. But he’s good at what he does, so a Japanese representative of the Emperor, interested in modernizing his country, approaches him with an offer to train a peasant army against the rebellion samurai force.

In the first battle with the samurai, one Algren knows the soldiers aren’t prepared for, the troops are held back easily and Algren, after a valiant fight, is taken captive by Katsumoto (Ken Wantanabe), who wants to learn about his enemy. Slowly, Algren and the samurai learn about and come to respect one another, and by the time Algren is set free, his perspective is irrevocably changed. War is a foregone conclusion, but now he has known honor, fairness, fighting as an act of love for your country, your people, your way of life. He could never return to the indescriminate, brutal violence of his people and, by extension, the Emperor’s army.

“What is it about your own people that you hate so much?” his commanding officer demands of him. The quote really struck me, for the answer is exactly what I hate about my own people more than a century later. The senseless, nonchalant violence. The feeling of removal from, if not outright superiority to, other cultures. The lack of respect and larger understanding. War undertaken for profit and strategic gain. There was no honor in this. There is no honor in what we’re doing in the Middle East today. It happens again and again.

I think this is far and away Tom Cruise’s finest performance, leading an impressive ensemble. The bonds formed by those who are unafraid of difference are compelling. And the war scenes are far from gratuitous; I think they send a greater message. War is only the context. This is a film about humanity.