The Last Samurai

Writer: John Logan, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz
Director: Edward Zwick
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Editor: Steven Rosenblum
Director of Photography: John Toll
Lead Actor: Tom Cruise

The Last Samurai has made it to my top 5. What a great story and a near perfect movie. It sort of shows the death of the Japanese culture, which could represent any pure way of life that is drowning. It seems like Japan is westernizing, not modernizing. The story is told in such a way that you sympathize with the Samurai, who, in the movie, are the symbol of the traditional ways. There is something sad about losing a tradition that has existed for 1000 years. So you sympathize with the samurai because they are the only ones still standing up for Japan’s unique culture. Such a small force they were. And so delicate up against the modern machines of war they were fighting against.

The samurai were really a very bloody people. I’m not sure I would have been routing for them in real life. The story may not be accurate in all its portrayals. It may be more Hollywood than history, but a lot of this can be looked at metaphorically.

John Toll’s photography is well done. The sets were beautiful. I especially like the snow scene with Katsumoto and Nathan in the temple’s courtyard. In a snow scene soon after that one, I found a little glitch that I may be able to call my own. As Nathan is carrying wood in his arm, one of the pieces begins to fall just as the scene cuts.

Before watching this film, I was slightly turned-off to find Tom Cruise in the main role. But have to say, it turned out ok. Not sure why I was turned off as I’ve never watched a movie with him. I think just because his appearance and seemingly boring face. The performances were all good. Especially Ken Watanabe playing Kastumoto, the samurai ‘rebel’ leader. He had an authoritative presence and his actions were quick and purposeful. I found out that this was his first film in English. For that, he did exceptionally well. Another performance of note is that of Sosuke Ikematsu playing Higen, the little boy. Good expressions and posture. He also had an emotional scene that he nailed.


Hans Zimmer composed very fitting and effective music for his 100th score. I listened to the score for several months before watching the movie. It definitely stands by itself. It is a rare case when you come to appreciate a piece ‘out of context’, and then wind up appreciating it more when you see it with the picture. That may sound odd but this is the reason for it. Music sometimes can create a mental image or emotion that pictures can’t really do justice too. Or, the image a piece creates may be broader than the musical application in the specific scene in a film.

The end of the battle scene at the end is amazing. It says more than just guns killing people. There’s an end of an era wrapped up in it all. Here are the samurai charging with nothing but blades against these deadly, rapid firing beasts. They did their job. They killed the last samurai. Zimmer’s score here does its part to fill the sequence with meaning. The music with the rapid firing of the guns is a tragic combination. One of the most powerful cinematic moments I’ve seen.

It comes to an end. Katsumoto dies. The enemy bows. Yes, the enemy bows. Perhaps the movie should have ended there. That way our ‘hero’ could have died or stayed alive, depending on what the viewer prefers.

This film is quite bloody when the weapons come out. The filmmakers could have very easily inserted a love scene (for the sake of having one), but they made conscious decision not to. That was a very good decision and one I applaud. Not having it did more to establish the cultural tradition that the whole film is about. It is obvious that Nathan and Taka had a love for each other, and yet there is a reserved distance that Taka maintains and Nathan respects.

Blood Diamond

Writer: Charles Leavitt
Director: Edward Zwick
Director of Photography: Eduardo Serra
Editor: Steven Rosenblum
Composer: James Newton Howard
Lead Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly
Year: 2007

Blood Diamond concerns the shady history of the diamond trade in Africa and the atrocities that accompany it. Trust me, you'll never think of diamonds in the same way again.

Danny Archer, played by DiCaprio, smuggles diamonds primarily for his own monetary gain. When he runs into a native fisherman named Solomon Vandy (Hounsou), who’s life and family has been torn apart by the warring in his country. Solomon’s primary mission is to recover his family, and could care less about the uber-valuable diamond he has found. Although the two men need each other to accomplish their ends, their motivations clash. Then throw in the perspective of a road weary and discouraged journalist looking for a story (Jennifer’s character), and you have a 3 strand cord that is not easily broken, although the tension is high.

Ed Zwick is a master of a director. Although he does have a thing for messy, intense violence. I always wonder if he doesn’t go overboard, and if he did in any of his films, it would be this one. It is indeed an impressive thing to choreograph. Having never been in the midst of a war, I don’t know if what I’m looking at is realistic. Seeing the amount of bullets being fired, it’s amazing they are able to escape!

Somehow, despite the confusion of the action, Zwick always manages to gain his footing and refocus on why all the mayhem is there. The direction consistently comes back to the heart of people’s motivation, or un-motivation, which is what make stories like this meaningful and interesting.

I love the way Djimon Honsou acts in this film. He's more mature than Gladiator yet still very unpretentious in his style. You can tell that he his directed, but in I kind of like that. The way he delivers his lines and actions is fresh and meaningful.

If there someone on the other end of the spectrum than Djimon it would be DiCaprio. The guy is super confident in his approach, yet is very good and can make that work. His character also calls for a kind of recklessness, which is no doubt why he was casted. If you can see him past the smoke, he’s one committed actor. As the smoke lifts at the end of the film, he becomes an even likeable character, if not under slightly contrived circumstances.

In perhaps one of her most well cast roles, Jennifer Connelly is convincing as a strong-willed journalist.

What is it about black antagonists that is so eerily scary? My oh my, I would be put under a spell just acting along side some of these guys, let alone actually dealing with their characters in real life.

Besides being an epic film, blood diamond is an interesting history, and quite sad, of diamonds. When one realizes the blood shed for these gems, he may not feel super great about buying one. Some diamonds come at a price in more ways than monetarily. There is a very interesting and informative documentary in the special features about how the diamond market works, or doesn't work. In fact, the black market is apparently still thriving.