The Last Samurai (2003) - Review by Ethan Vaundry

History of the film:

The Last Samurai was directed by Edward Zwick and was released in November of 2003. The film stars Tom Cruise as the U.S. Army Captain Nathan Algren as well as Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto Moritsugu. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures with a budget of $140 million while grossing $456 million at the Box Office. The film was nominated for four academy awards including best supporting actor for Ken Watanabe as well as best score which was orchestrated by Hans Zimmer. The story of the film follows Captain Nathan Algren, a U.S. Army officer who is haunted by the images of slaughter that he helped wage against the Sioux people. Algren receives an offer from a Japanese official named Mr. Omura to train the Japanese conscript army to put down the Samurai rebellion led by Katsumoto Moritsugu. In their first battle, the incompetent conscripts are routed, and Algren is captured by Katsumoto. Algren spends months in captivity in which he falls in love with the Samurai way and eventually volunteers to fight with Katsumoto. In the final battle, Katsumoto along with the other Samurai are killed, only leaving Algren to survive the engagement. The U.S. Captain goes to the Emperor, bringing with him Katsumoto’s sword. The Emperor is overcome by emotion and recognizes that Japan must not abandon their past at the expense of progress. He then fires Omura and Algren returns to live out his days at the Samurai village.

Overall, despite the movie being Hollywood’s best attempt at representing Japanese culture, this film is highly inaccurate from an historical perspective. To state the obvious, there was no American Samurai, or anyone named Nathan Algren. The character of Katsumoto is also fictional but is based off of the real Samurai rebel, Saigō Takamori who was the primary leader in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. There are multiple differences between Saigō and the Katsumoto adaption of him. When Algren first asks about Katsumoto it is stated that the rebels do not use firearms because it is “dishonourable.” This is complete nonsense as Saigō armed his forces with guns and cannons, only reverting to conventional weaponry when he ran out of ammunition. The movie also portrays the 1876 rendition of the Imperial army as weak and ineffective. This is highly inaccurate as this Imperial army had recently fought, and won, the Boshin War making it a battle-hardened veteran force. In the real Satsuma Rebellion, the Imperial’s won every battle against the Samurai rebels. The final major inaccuracy of the film is how the film portrays the Samurai. The movie makes them seem as highly honourable while being persecuted like an ethnic group. These two depictions are incorrect as the Samurai were highly corrupt and mainly hated the legal changes as they lost many of their privileges. These privileges included the right to kill a commoner if disrespected and exemption from certain taxes. Their other major grievance was that the bottom of the feudal cast (the merchant class) was becoming increasingly more influential and wealthier than them. Overall, despite being a critically acclaimed movie, The Last Samurai is highly inaccurate from a historical standpoint.