The Last Samurai

Like many people interested in Japanese armor, my journey started with the 2003 film The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise. The movie depicts an American Civil War veteran mentally and physically suffering after a career of warfare. Without giving too much away, he goes on a journey of self discovery and healing while living with the last of the samurai in late 19th century Japan. Which brings me to the unfortunate name of the movie; The Last Samurai. Many complain that the movie depicts Tom Cruise’s character, Nathan Algren, as a “white savior” of a “tribal people”, but I could not disagree more strongly. His character is amongst a cast of characters who ARE the last samurai as the movie is based around the end of samurai rule in Japan. If anything Nathan Algren is the one who was saved by them, albeit perhaps a bit too romanticized.