Is it worth shedding traditions for the modern way of living?
Every great nation and civilization has had to confront this question at some point or the other in it’s past and as they have found out there is no easy answer.What it does then, at that difficult juncture, paves way for the future of it’s people.Change and evolution is a way of life as they say , unless one wants to end up as the proverbial "frog in the well".But again a total disregard for the local traditions in a myopic quest for such a desirable change only proves catastrophic as it divides the people in segments believing in contrasting ideologies unable to find a common ground.
The Last Samurai directed by the very acclaimed Edward Zwick(his other works include Goodwill Hunting *and Blood Diamond*) is set in the late ninteenth century Japan ruled by a gullible, young and immature emperor.Captain Nathan Algren(played by Tom Cruise), a decorated American civil war veteran is summoned by the Japanese to train their rag tag army(mainly peasants) in modern firearms.Nathan , though a highly reverred figure is actually a troubled soul.Having witnessed wide spread atrocities during wars, his conscience has since then weighed heavy on him for being a mute spectator to the killings of innocent tribesmen.He immerses himself in alcohol in the hope of forgetting his sins but those images still haunt him endlessly.Still he accepts his erstwhile commander’s offer to come to Japan but not before threatening him with this
"You want me to kill the enemies of Jappos, I’ll kill the enemies of Jappos... Rebs, or Sioux, or Cheyenne... For 500 bucks a month I’ll kill whoever you want. But keep one thing in mind: I’d happily kill you for free"
Once he lands in Japan and gets accustomed to the new surroundings he is baffled by his new enemy, The Samurai, the traditional Japanese Warriors.He studies their warfare and is quite surprised to find that they don’t use any firearms yet can run through oppositions by the virtue of their swords.Even before he completely settles into his new job he is ordered to take the army , who are clearly far from prepared to war with the enemy.This is where he first encounters the fabled Samurai warriors who effortlessly beat them and take him as hostage.
As he regains consciousness after a long time he finds himself in a remote Japanese Hamlet.Katsumoto(played by Ken Watanabe), the leader of the Samurai clan has asked his sister to bring Algren back to health despite Algren having killed her husband in the battle.It is there that Algren gets a taste of Bushido, the Samurai way of living , their dedication to their beliefs, their single minded determination to master the sword and their overall purity and conviction and he becomes increasingly fond of them.Katsumoto’s objective in keeping him alive is to gather information about the new way of warfare but after a number of conversations they both develop respect for each other.While narrating his experience Nathan writes
They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seem such discipline. I am surprised to learn that the word Samurai means, ’to serve’, and that Katsumoto believes his rebellion to be in the service of the Emperor
It is this experience which gives Nathan the peace of mind and instills a sense of purpose which was always missing in his life.He no more refuses to listen to his conscience and after having understood the purpose of the Samurai , joins them in the last war where the Japanese army clad with machine guns and all kinds of modern equipment finally defeats them.
Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe have delivered mind blowing performances as the lead protagonists.But the most enduring experience has to be the almost mesmerising cinematography(The scenes of battle being the most memorable) by John Toll and background music(especially the samurai theme) by the legendary Hans Zimmer.
The screenplay by John Logan is compelling and thought provoking.Above all Edward Zwick’s grand depiction is bound to make you sit and take notice of the heroics of the Samurai.A true masterpiece indeed.