Image of Japan

Image of Japan

  • Submitted By: yjki2002
  • Date Submitted: 12/10/2008 5:35 PM
  • Category: Religion
  • Words: 2187
  • Page: 9
  • Views: 695

The image of Japan in the movie ‘The Last Samurai’

The movie ‘The Last Samurai’ staring the films star Tom Cruise in the role of American soldier Nathan Algren, the main character, is a 2003 film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick. This Film is based on the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigo Takamori, and also on the story of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the Boshin war. In real history, Portuguese was the main source of fire power to the Japanese. At the period of the movie, Japan was trading with Netherland and China. Also, the United Kingdom and France was included in the Japanese westernization, and America was starting to trade through ‘Yokohama’. However, the roles of other countries are lowered down and America is the main helper of Japanese westernization.
The movie starts with Nathan Algren, the main character of this movie, telling stories about his experience in war. He was a captain for the United Stated Army during the war against the Native American civilians and suffers the guilt of attacking a village which had nothing to do with the war, and because of this, he relies on alcohol which makes him loose his job. After he looses his job, his former commanding officer Colonel Bagley, whom he loathes, offers Nathan Algren a job on behalf of a Japanese businessman, Mr. Omura. Mr. Omura wants Nathan Algren to help train the new Meiji Restoration government’s imperial Japanese army. After agreeing to take the job, Algren moves to Japan and trains an army of peasants and farmers to shoot firearms. Before the army is properly trained, however, Nathan Algren is forced to take them into battle against a group of samurai’s who rebelled against the sudden westernization led my Katsumoto, to defend Mr. Omura’s investment in a new railway construction site in Japan. During the battle, because Algren’s soldiers were poorly trained and panicked at the very sight of the samurai’s, the samurai’s slaughters...

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