I Am Sam(urai)

Sean Penn as Sam Tom Cruise as the last samurai

And to make this travesty worse, you can feel the handsome little guy [Tom Cruise] "acting" with every fiber of his being. It's kind of unsettling. He resembles Sean Penn in "I Am Sam," except he seems to be shouting "I am Samurai." His face is a perpetual mask of scorn, his body a knot of anxiety, his eyes cranked down to laser glare. He's a poster boy for the concept of "trying too hard." He's not a hero, he's the guy at the party who's so intense you want him to stay away.

- From Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's review of The Last Samurai. [Via Jeffrey Wells' Hollywood Elsewhere]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts and Events on December 5, 2003 1:48 PM

Comments [rss]

D. Cline

They're just Asians ... who gives a shit

James

Why is the "last Samurai" a white man?

Hilton

steve-

good point about the racial aspect of the movie. almost as bad as, say, breakfast at tiffany's.

by the way, never knew someone could be so witty in washington. why can't i ever find them here in dc?

steve

This movie is openly racist, in a way that most people will refuse to acknowledge. It's disgusting. The following casting call (copied from angryasianman.com) was posted on UCLA Film School's listserve, and later retracted:

CASTING CALL

Casting beautiful Asian women for Warner Bros.' The Last Samurai Premiere After-party to be held in Westwood on Dec 1st.. Women will be dressed as village women from the film's wardrobe department and mingle 'in character' through the party, helping to create the ambience of ancient Japan, circa 1870's. There is no pay, but a chance to be part of this year's biggest Hollywood premiere with a guest list including Tom Cruise and the rest of The Last Samurai's fantastic cast!!

If interested please forward a picture and information ASAP to:

Cheryl Rave

Entertainment Producer

Warner Bros. Special Events

(818)954-3549 phone

(818)954-3011 fax

Cheryl.Rave@Warnerbros.com

The sick thing is that this happens all the time, and no one raises a stink about it. There has been a similar call for 'geisha girls' by the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Check it out at http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/n_9431/

Doctor Memory

This movie sucked 25 years ago when it was a miniseries called "Shogun." What precisely did we do to deserve a remake?

And is it just me, or does Cruise's expression in the (omnipresent and occasionally stories-tall) posters for this movie resemble that of an incredibly constipated man who is finally after many weeks winning the struggle to move his bowels?

eli

Anybody care to deny (again) that the Asian stereotype I addressed in a thread about Murakami doesn't exist? This is just more Noble Savage crap, same as Dances with Wolves and Legends of the Fall, but with Sushi and Zazen. Blech. Perhaps Edward Zwick should claim that he is "challenging western stereotypes" instead of perpetuating them, and then people will run to his defense.

eebmore

My first thought when I heard about this movie was didn't Kevin Costner already make this once? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that Samurai culture was particularly xenophobic and closed to foreign influences? What would make them take a horrible actor into their ranks?