The Last Samurai- Uncut
Added 2024-09-12 19:27:52 +0000 UTC
Comments
I saw this when it came out. It's a difficult movie to watch, but I enjoyed seeing it with your reaction and insight into the Japanese culture and reflecting on their view of honor. I'm glad Nathan had a happy ending and you could enjoy that aspect since you've been watching some intense films lately. My Japanese aunt loved this movie. She said it was a great depiction of Japanese honor. Nathan's thought, "There is so much here I will never understand" hits home to me. Despite being half-Japanese, having lived in Japan for 4 years, and minoring in Japanese culture, I still feel this way. The topic of gun imports to Japan is a difficult one. There are several movies and anime that deal with this, such as Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha. My impression from these films is that guns are a shift away from the tradition and honor of the samurai and represent their becoming irrelevant. As this movie shows, even a newly trained soldier with a machine gun can shoot down many skilled samurai. When discussing the cherry blossoms, Katsumoto is talking about the Japanese concept of "wabi sabi" or fleeting beauty. Cherry blossoms last at full bloom for only 3 days or so and are greatly appreciated for their moment which is why Japanese take vacation to picnic under their blooms. Samurai were not only educated in war and strategy, but also cultured in green tea ceremony, ikebana (flower arranging), sumi-e (ink painting), calligraphy and other high-end pursuits. I agree, Ken Watanabe is the star of the show as Katsumoto, and fully immerses himself into the character. If you haven't seen Inception, it's one of my favorite films (along with Interstellar also by Christopher Nolan) and Watanabe has a great role in it as part of a top notch ensemble cast.
Yoshio
2024-09-29 05:12:28 +0000 UTCI'll give a happy movie recommendation "Amelie"
Jaybird922
2024-09-23 04:26:45 +0000 UTCJust a clarification: Nobutada was Katsumoto's son. Taka was Nobutada's aunt. The kids were the son's of the man in the red armor that Nathan killed early in the movie.
Lucas Roberts
2024-09-18 17:23:46 +0000 UTCI was waiting for you to watch this. I love that I can put this on and listen and not have to multitask the movie on another tab. Ken Watanabe who played Katsumoto was nominated for best supporting actor in 2003. So you were spot on. "300" that is the story they spoke about in this movie when referencing Thermopylae, the Greeks vs the Persians.
Jonathan Martin
2024-09-16 01:49:44 +0000 UTC
