Saturday, 17 November 2012

Name of Film: The Last Samurai




This film, the Last Samurai, takes place in 1876 in Japan.

The main part of Nathan is played by Tom Cruise.  Nathan is an ex-cavalry officer engaged by the Emperor of Japan to train the Japanese Army.  During a battle with a samurai clan he was captured and taken prisoner.  He lived with them for 2 seasons.  Although he was a prisoner he discovered an inner peace by finding himself.
In a final battle, where many are killed, he vanishes through the mountains.

The inner conflict experienced by Nathan in this story is shown by __through flashbacks and guilty feelings about a Massacre of American Indians.  A bright blue colour in these scenes gives these flashbacks a unity and continuity to help the viewer.  At first Nathan tries to resolve this conflict by turning to alcohol, shown through the continued presence of a bottle of whisky.


When the inner conflict is resolved we do not see the bottle anymore.

During his time in command this inner conflict, was shown through the parts played by the other officers and his continued rebellion against authority and his agressive personality.

This inner conflict is also shown through a fast pace in filming and the use of dark colours.  When he is taken prisoner the pace of the film seems to change.

One scene as soon as he is taken prisoner shows a fight between him and his captor inthe rain and although he loses, this seems to be a turning point in the inner conflict.













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