Is The Last Samurai based on a true story? Explained

As is the case for period dramas such as The Last Samurai, it often becomes difficult to discern between what is true and what is not. Therefore, when the movie was released to audiences in 2003, they were left confused regarding some of the events of the movie.

Although The Last Samurai took inspiration from real events and people, the occurrences in the movie were not entirely true. A major portion of the movie had been fictionalized for the screens. With that being said, some intricate details of the movie did bear resemblance to actual events.

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How true are the events depicted in The Last Samurai?

As mentioned already, The Last Samurai took inspiration from real-life events and people pertinent to Japan's history. However, the makers decided to give the story a fictional angle by manipulating some of the details in the movie. Details about the show's fictional bits were first brought to notice by the people who were already aware of Japan's history.

The constant tiff between the samurai and the prevalent government concerning the absorption of Western ideas and their ways of life played a primal part in The Last Samurai. And so did the samurai rebellion which eventually led to the Boshin War. But then again despite maintaining historical accuracy in some aspects, in other aspects, the movie did not.

Fans think that Captain Nathan Algren's character, portrayed by Tom Cruise was loosely based on a real-life soldier named Jules Brunet. Brunet was part of the French military and had arrived in Japan at the peak of clashes between the government in power and the Samurai. In the movie, Cruise played an American soldier, who was hired by the Japanese government to train them against the Samurais.

Besides Algren's character, Fans also think Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto's role in The Last Samurai is loosely based on Samurai Saigō Takamori. Takamori was a prominent figure in leading the rebellion against the Meiji Government during the time. He, along with his band of soldiers vehemently opposed the government's attempts at inseminating Western modes of thought and ideals in Japan.

With that being said, the fate of the character in the movie differs slightly from Takamori's in real life. Whereas in The Last Samurai Katsumoto breathed his last while fighting for his cause, Takamori lived to see many more years of his life after that.

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Is The Last Samurai a good movie?

When The Last Samurai was first released, the movie faced flak from the critics who blamed it for historical misrepresentation. However, this did not stop the people from rushing to the theatres to watch the movie. The movie was one of the biggest hits of 2003. Its collective box office collections were a staggering 456 million dollars. The movie was also nominated in several categories at multiple award shows.

As of now, the movie holds a below-average score of 66 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. A reason behind the same could be how ill-received the movie was by the critics when it was released. Annette Dasey from Teletext writes:

"Before you can say "I'm turning Japanese I really think so" he's learnt the way of the samurai and become Japanese in every way except that he's Tom Cruise, all American hero."

David Walsh from the World Socialist Web Site also writes:

"Zwick's film idealizes the "noble savage" and denigrates modern society not from the point of view of a serious critique of capitalism, but in a misanthropic, right-wing populist manner."

The movie scored comparatively better among the audiences on Rotten Tomatoes who have given it an 83 percent rating.

A user writes:

"A simply brilliant film, comfortably stands among other historical masterpieces such as Saving Privet Ryan & Gladiator. A much watch if you love history, Japanese culture or just simply great storytelling and action."

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The Last Samurai is available for renting and buying on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.