
I’ve seen this movie many, many times but I love watching this movie. For one, this is probably my favorite Tom Cruise movie along with Ghost Protocol, but that’s not why I like it so much. The plot of the story is different than other movies that I’ve seen. Now, I’m not a Japanese history expert, so I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy of it (I’ve heard various things about the historical components of the movie), but I can say that it’s a nice movie overall.
I especially like the fact that Nathan Algren (the main character of the film), a former captain of the Civil War, is taken into captivity but isn’t tortured or struggling to survive. He’s in a place that is completely foreign to him, but learns his enemy’s way of life and soon becomes the friend of his enemy. I suppose that being held captive in a village home instead of being held in a prison gives him a different kind of freedom that most prisoners don’t have, but he’s still a captive, no less.
In a way I’m kind of jealous because Nathan Algren is able to experience a completely different culture without any obstacles…
Did I mention the film score yet? The Last Samurai’s score is one of my all time favorite scores, completely memorable and excruciatingly beautiful.
How it inspires me:
Nathan Algren finds himself captured by a people that he does not know and, at the beginning, does not care about. However, he discovers his place in a foreign world as well as discovering a purpose in his a life. A few of my characters struggle to find a purpose after living a life that they didn’t want to live. I want them to find their purpose, but not without the guidance and the care of a few good and unlikely friends. Everything that they may have believed once in a lifetime turns out to be false, but for their own good.