"Cutting it close" (The Last Samurai)

Another from the Japan Times:

Cutting it close
Makers of 'Last Samurai' do their work

By GIOVANNI FAZIO

A line of infantrymen hesitantly peer off into the misty woods
they're traversing -- a murmur of sound has them spooked. These straw-
hatted, musket-bearing soldiers represent the new, "modern" army of
Emperor Meiji, and they're led by American Civil War veteran Capt.
Nathan Aldren. But they're about to get a lesson in good, old-
fashioned shock and awe.
War cries and the sound of thundering hooves rise from the
mist. "Samurai," mutter the infantrymen, their eyes darting around in
panic. Aldren tries to maintain fire-discipline, hoping to unleash a
volley just as the mounted warriors are upon them. But as the enemy
horsemen rush headlong into his line, his men break, scatter and run,
and are slaughtered to a man. All except Aldren, who is taken
prisoner.
This is the first glimpse the world got of the new Tom Cruise
project, "The Last Samurai," a few scenes from which were unveiled at
a press conference at Roppongi Hills last week. Shot in Japan (Himeji
and Kyoto), New Zealand and a Warner backlot in Los Angeles, "The
Last Samurai" -- which will open in December -- is a $100 million
Hollywood attempt to make a Japanese jidaigeki (period drama) with
the impact of "Gladiator" or "Braveheart." Cruise and director Edward
Zwick turned up with nearly all the Japanese cast -- jidaigeki
regulars like Ken Watanabe, Shun Sugata and the supercool Hiroyuki
Sanada, as well as kabuki actor Shichinosuke Nakamura and
model/actress Koyuki -- to hype the first major Hollywood-does-Japan
flick since 1993's "Rising Sun."
Cinemagoers who remember that film -- as well as dreck like "Black
Rain" and "Pearl Harbor" -- know that American directors rarely
manage to get Japan right, with awkward mannerisms and speech
patterns, and costumes that invariably leave Japanese audiences
feeling bewildered. It's easy to imagine "The Last Samurai" marching
off the same cliff of cultural miscomprehension, but despite the
storyline's similarities to the television miniseries "Shogun" --
bearded gaijin is enlisted by enemy samurai warriors; slowly
acclimates and falls for demure, kimono-clad beauty; then suffers
from torn loyalties -- it seems the filmmakers have done everything
possible to get their on-screen Japan right.
Director Zwick is a history buff and a stickler for detail, and it
shows. Actor after actor attested to the production's deep commitment
to research and accuracy. Ken Watanabe, who plays a rebellious
samurai modeled on Takamori Saigo -- who fought to the bitter end
against the Meiji administration's centralization and modernization --
admits he had doubts when he first read the script. "Most of the
staff were American, British or New Zealanders, and there were hardly
any Japanese except for a few advisers," he said. "Right from the
beginning, I spoke with Sanada-san, and we agreed that we would speak
up if there were any points that didn't feel right. But that turned
out to be unnecessary; the filmmakers had a very deep understanding
of the samurai."
Sanada added that there were some compromises "between reality and
entertainment, between making it authentically Japanese and
comprehensible to audiences overseas," but said, "I'm proud of the
results." Masato Harada noted that there's certainly nothing as wince-
inducing as when the Emperor off-handedly says "Domo!" to Richard
Chamberlain in "Shogun."
Certainly, the film looks right, from its massive temples and rustic
villages, to floral kimono and antiquated yoroi armor. One point of
concern, naturally, is Cruise's attempts to deliver dialogue in
Japanese: A brief scene with Koyuki, however, revealed language
skills that, however basic, sound better than many foreigners who've
been here for a few years. Cruise handles the scene with an
appropriate awkwardness, putting to shame the incomprehensible
nihongo of Sean Connery -- playing an "old Japan hand" -- in "Rising
Sun."
When it comes to swordfighting, the staple of any chanbara flick,
Cruise is utterly convincing. "I trained for eight months prior to
shooting the film, and I put on 20 pounds [9 kg] for the movie, to be
able to carry the swords and wear the armor," said Cruise. "But it
was great, because as I was developing the character, my body was
changing and I was becoming more and more like Aldren." Sanada, who
along with Watanabe tutored Cruise in the finer points of swordplay,
said simply: "He's really tough. No matter how many hours we filmed
each day, he'd still want to do one or two hours of training
afterward. I did give him a little advice regarding Japanese kenjutsu
(swordfighting), but whatever I told him, he'd absorb it right away.
And as he got better, his stance became centered lower, and he really
started to look like a samurai."
Perhaps the greatest praise for Cruise's immersion in his role came
from Sugata, who's had a decades-long career in jidaigeki as the
kirareyaku, the "guy who gets slashed." Said Sugata: "I was doubtful
that Americans could really do swordfighting, but they had studied it
in depth, they had seen all the Kurosawa films, so the American staff
were even telling Sanada and me what to do! I was really impressed by
Tom Cruise. I mean, sure, he'd practiced, but I know from 40 years of
experience that if you just practice for a couple of months, you
can't do it right, but he was perfect. I could feel the passion and
commitment he put into this film."
Sugata went on to say that "The Last Samurai" would be a wake-up call
to the Japanese film industry that had regarded chanbara as a
domestic specialty. "Now I feel we just can't sit back and assume
it's our specialty, because no Japanese film has done this so well."
Obviously, the film is a canny move for Cruise, who knows on which
side his bread is buttered; the actor has a huge following in Japan --
witness even Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi angling for a photo-op
with him -- and, sure enough, he'll be back in December for the
opening to give it another push. Beyond that, the post-"Crouching
Tiger" (and "Matrix") mini-boom in Asian action seems to still be on
the upswing, although it remains to be seen if fans of the fantastic,
looney-tunes fights of Hong Kong cinema will go for the gritty
realism of "The Last Samurai," which largely avoids computer-graphic
effects.
But beyond that, Cruise -- a Scientologist who neither drinks nor
smokes and who has increasingly taken on physically demanding roles --
seems genuinely fascinated by Bushido and the "Hagakure," the way of
the warrior.
"Bushido is really the reason I wanted to make this film," said
Cruise. "I strongly identify with those values of honor, loyalty and
passion. It's a very powerful code; those are wonderful things to
aspire to in a life."
OK, so perhaps he's laying it on a bit thick. But for an actor who
got by for so long on pure charm, he's certainly willed himself into
a more mature performer, with depth and gravity, in films
like "Magnolia," "Minority Report" and "Vanilla Sky." Here's
hoping "The Last Samurai" shows him at his best.

"But beyond that, Cruise -- a Scientologist who
neither drinks nor
smokes and who has increasingly taken on physically
demanding roles --
seems genuinely fascinated by Bushido and the
"Hagakure," the way of
the warrior.
"Bushido is really the reason I wanted to make this
film," said
Cruise. "I strongly identify with those values of
honor, loyalty and
passion. It's a very powerful code; those are
wonderful things to
aspire to in a life."


Overall, encouraging articles, Kitsuno, but the above
still worries me. Though it's more appropriate for the
timeframe than say, if he was doing a Will Adams take,
I'm just hoping we don't get overwhelmed with Hagakure
honor-garbage.

Still, the articles do make me feel somewhat
better--at least they TRIED to get things right, and
if Watanabe Ken signs off on it...

Nate


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