Japan via the Last Samurai

While planning my Hawaii getaway, I suddenly realize that my days slaving away at Ernst & Young finally pay off. I've accumulated enough American Airlines mileage to redeem a free ticket to Japan .

Japan has always intrigued me by its development path. As the country moves from a base of shattered industries and demoralized population after WWII to cutting-edge technology and economic power status, it somehow still manages to integrate its unique culture while keeping the core heritage largely untainted by Western influence. Japan, for me, is a place where you can find all the dichotomies, East and West, traditional and modern, urban and rural, to coexist harmoniously. It's an exemplar of contemporary hybrid culture.

The juxtaposition of old and new is the overarching theme that runs through the Last Samurai. In this heartfelt presentation of a tale of love, war, nationalism, and heroism, the movie depicts a journey into the unfamiliar land of Japan of Captain Nathan, a half-drunk American soldier in deep sorrow and disillusionment. After fighting many futile battles, Nathan becomes adrift when he realizes that self-interest has replaced sacrifice and honor. Concomitantly, in Japan, Katsumoto, the last leader of the venerated Samurai, an ancient line of warriors who dedicate their lives to serving the emperor, is also about to see his life disintegrate. The modern way that encroaches upon traditional Japan threatens the values and codes by which the Samurai has lived and died for centuries. The paths of these two warriors converge when the young Emperor of Japan hires Nathan to train Japan 's first modern army and quell the Samurai uprisings.
The story of The Last Samurai took place at the end of the old Shogunate rule when Japan had its first significant encounter with the West after a self-imposed isolation of 200 years. The moments of change from the antique to the modern are especially poignant and dramatic, and wondrously visual. Each image, each landscape in the movie tells a story. A man in a bowler hat strolls beside a woman wearing a kimono. A man firing a repeating rifle faces a man wielding a sword. It's amazing to watch the physical, emotional and spiritual turbulence of this exotic and contradictory era unfolds.

I deeply respect and admire the Japanese ethos, especially that of the Samurai. I think their spirit of strength, compassion, fierce loyalty, their commitment to honoring their word and a willingness to give their lives for what they believe is right is highly commendable as it’s about taking responsibility for what you do and say, whatever the repercussions. Though the Samurai seems anachronistic to the proponents of progress, and the new lust for all things modern in Japan leaves no room for the Samurai with their fabled swords and old-fashioned notions of honor, Katsumoto still maintains his personal principles in a society that no longer values them. His struggle, especially in combination with Nathan’s own reluctant spiritual journey, is extremely mesmerizing.

Anyway, the point of so much rambling is that if you haven't watched the Last Samurai, you should go to the DVD store now. As for me, I need to act on that free ticket quickly before American Airlines goes bankrupt. After all, they're already charging $15 for one checked baggage.