The Last Shred of Dignity
Prediction: this movie is going to suck like a top of the range Hoover. Why Hollywood felt the need to fictionalise the battle of Kagoshima Bay is beyond me, but putting Tom Cruise there is more daft than the original Shogun. At least Richard Chamberlain played a fictionalised analog of an actual historical figure.
Someone once joked to me that Kurosawa did his Shakespearian adaptations (Ran, Throne of Blood, etc.) in revenge for Americans having stolen The Seven Samurai to make The Magnificent Seven. Something similar should be done here. Maybe Juzo Itami could make a movie about a Japanese follower of Mishima's coming over to America to train black activists in 'the essential Buddhist character of passive resistance' during the 1960's Civil Rights movement? Or a Japanese scientist contributing to the genesis of the Trinity Project?
In case you're wondering why I'm getting so perturbed, I find the idea of this movie ridiculous and bordering on the offensive. (Of course, I'll still go see it just to see if I'm right.) The main counterpart to Cruise's character seems to be based on Saigo Takemori, a man who could legitimately claim the title of 'The Last Samurai.' Stubborn, firmly convinced of his own cause, and willing to lead a hopeless revolution in the face of insurmountable odds, he's always been one of my historical role models. I'm going to hate what Hollywood's done to him.
Comments
Posted by: Josh | September 7, 2003 7:21 PM