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Article: U.S. filmmakers use Japan as a backdrop as they explore Western angst.
- Article from:
- The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
- Article date:
- December 4, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Dallas Morning News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Chris Vognar
In ``The Last Samurai,'' Tom Cruise plays an embittered Civil War veteran who falls in love with the Samurai way of life after he's enlisted to help wipe it out. The movie, which opened Friday, revels in romanticized veneration for Japanese wisdom _ but not enough to hide the fact that this is a Westerner's story.
"From the moment they awake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they do," Cruise solemnly intones, shortly before donning his own armor and taking up arms to defend his new best friends. You go, Tom. Save the Samurai.
To be fair, ``The Last Samurai'' stays truer to its setting than many other ...