I was a bit surprised to see that the theater had stadium seating since I asked around about whether this style of theater was in Japan. The ticket price was still 1800 yen (could have got in at the student's 1,400 yen rate) but at least it hasn`t risen with the newer style of theater unlike back at home. My friend also reserved seats for us. They were in the very back row but there`s never really a bad seat in this type of theater.
I actually love seeing movies in foreign places because, to me, it heightens the escapism. Of course, seeing a movie about Japan in Japan also helps the mood, especially since an early part of the movie takes place in Yokohama. As for the movie itself, I thought it was very good but my earlier label for it, `Dances with Samurai` still applies. As a matter of fact, I can pick out a lot of elements in the movie from a lot of others like `Dances with Wolves`, `Braveheart`, `Glory` (this and `Last Samurai` both directed by Edward Zwick) and even `Princess Mononoke`. If you appreciated the battle choreography in `Glory` and `Braveheart` there`s a couple of excellent ones here. Tom Cruise was good but Ken Watanabe was better although my friend said that she didn`t think samurais would be so expressive. Ultimately, it has its heart in the right place on the most part but it still is basically the type of Hollywood epic movie that comes out in time to qualify for the Oscars.
It does help to know a little about the Meiji Restoration since the movie takes place between 1876 and 1877. Again, I`ve been finding it good to have read up some Japanese history before coming here, especially that of the last 500 years. The movie was supposed to have some basis on the Satsuma Rebellion but I have yet to read anything about that event.
There were a couple of things to quibble about aside from some of the character portrayals. The movie followed the myth that ninjas wore black (not according to the visit to the Ninja Yashiki Museum in Ueno City with the school's Discovery Tour a couple of weeks ago). My friend was also bothered by the use of `hara-kiri` in referring to ritual suicide. `Hara-kiri`, which literally means belly slitting, is actually a crude term for `seppuku`. I did ask my friend about the portrayal of Emperor Meiji in the film but she wasn`t too sure about it. I think it's always risky portraying an important historical figure as a background character in a Hollywood movie, especially someone of the status of the emperor in Japan. I thought it was about the same as how Robert the Bruce was played in 'Braveheart'. It's also the reason I didn't like the use of historical characters in 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' but had no problem with the characterization of Death in 'Bogus Journey'.
There were a couple of the Japanese cultural themes that I took from the movie. One is about the work towards focus and perfection in the things you do, which I get the impression from arts such as calligraphy and tea ceremony. The other is honouring and respecting those in the past who worked to create the world we live in today. The annual Obon festival is a good example here of this practice in Japan. The movie presented the samurai in an extremely romantic and heroic image but, of course, there were faults with them as well. In that way, though, I think it partially explains Prime Minister Koizumi`s controversial annual visits to the Yasukuni shrine that honours the war dead including World War II criminals.
I enjoyed the movie very much but came out of it wary of how much of it can be said to be representative of the subject matter. Like I said before, the movie had many similarities to 'Dances with Wolves' but the difference here is that Japan's cultural reputation is already generally well known and it didn't need to be re-envisioned (nor was the movie looking to do so). Overall, it was still a movie well worth seeing.