Is The Last Samurai Real At All? True Story Explained
The period drama The Last Samurai chronicles a real-life Japanese rebellion from the 19th century but fictionalizes several historical events and people. The Edward Zwick drama received four Oscar nominations upon its 2003 release and has sparked debates over the years about its subject matter and White Savior narrative. So how much of the story is real, and how much of the true story was changed for The Last Samurai?
The Last Samurai stars Top Gun's Tom Cruise as Nathan Algren, a member of the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment who served during the American Indian Wars, not long after fighting during the American Civil War. Across the world in Japan, the Meiji Restoration introduced a new way of life and thus sparked a rebellion among samurais. A Japanese politician, Mr. Omura (Masato Harada), visits America and recruits Algren to train the Japanese Imperial Army, hoping for a smooth transition to a new cultural era.
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In The Last Samurai, the inciting incident transpires when Algren squares off against a group of samurai led by Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu (Godzilla 2's Ken Watanabe). He fights bravely and viciously, so much so that his life is ultimately spared by Katsumoto, who subsequently takes the American into the mountains and provides care. Day by day, Algren not only learns the ways of the samurai but learns to love the traditions and codes of conduct. The Last Samurai builds to a violent final act, in which Algren and Katsumoto battle the Japanese Imperial Army, along with the American's former commanding officer from the 7th Cavalry Regiment, Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwyn). The samurai fight to the death, using only traditional
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