The Last Samurai

Go see The Last Samurai right now! You know how some movies like Gladiator or Braveheart will evoke emotions and make you feel proud and you tear up a little? The Last Samurai blows them out of the water. It is absolutely amazing. Ken Watanabe was excellent, and, I think, definitely better than Tom Cruise. The Last Samurai does not refer specifically to Tom Cruise, but to the group. It takes place during the Meiji Reformation, wherein the Emperor Meiji decided that Japan should go modern. Unfortunately, ths also meant that the samurai were becoming outdated. A shame really, since they were the embodiment of what the Japanese people stood for for hundreds of years. I must return to Japan, to breathe that air, to see those mountains, to find the perfect cherry blossom. I felt nostalgia and pride. I felt loathing at the opposing force that would willingly wipe out a living, breathing part of the Japanese culture in the name of modernization.