Dancing with wolves, Japanese-style
A disillusioned Civil War veteran sets out to a foreign land
where he encounters an ancient culture. Its values of honor, loyalty and courage
prove a revelation. Though sheltered by the tribe’s leader, he meets with resistance
from others. He eventually joins this culture and marries a young widow.
Though it sounds like the plot of Dances with Wolves (1990), it’s also
a brief recap of the new Tom Cruise epic, The Last Samurai, a film that
has more than a few similarities to Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winner. Not only are
both films anchored by a similar premise, both are told on an epic scale, achieving
a sense of grandeur that’s impressive both visually and thematically. That’s
where the similarity ends. Wolves cast an emotional spell, making us
care about the plight of Lt. John Dunbar and the Lakota Sioux tribe that adopted
him. Director Edward Zwick tries mightily to achieve the same effect with Samurai,
but falls short.
Cruise is Capt. Nathan Algren, a part-time Army officer and full-time drunk
and mercenary who is captured by a group of samurai he’d been hired to destroy.
The leader of this warrior group, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), asks his sister,
Taka (Koyuki), to nurse Algren back to health. In his many conversations with
Katsumoto, Algren comes to realize that the samurai way is a noble one. He trains
as a samurai warrior and eventually joins them in battle against the modernized
Japanese army that wants to destroy them.
Though all of the elements are present for strong emotional bonds, the reserve
with which Japanese approach relationships fosters a sense of detachment that
affects the entire film. Despite the many heartfelt conversations Algren and
Katsumoto have, or the personal interactions that occur between Taka, her children
and Algren, there’s a distance between them that’s never bridged. The cast is
not at fault. Everyone does a fine job, particularly Cruise, Watanabe (a shoe-in
for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), and Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio, a warrior who
resents Algren’s presence. No, the fault is a cultural one, preventing the film
from delivering the emotional knockout punch it requires. (CK)
Nothing Missing in this smart Western
For some reason, the former Opie has sagebrush in his blood, and the result
is a beautiful (thanks to cinematographer Salvatore Totino’s paintbrush renderings
of New Mexico) and surprisingly brutal action film. Director Ron Howard’s current
release, The Missing, is a welcome addition to the current renaissance
of smart adult Westerns.
It’s 1885, and Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett) survives on the range by serving
as the local healer. She doesn’t especially like Indians, but she’s a “Christian
woman” and is unable to turn away one in need. Life is tough but calm for the
Gilkesons, who include Maggie’s teenage daughter Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and
young Dot (Jenna Boyd). That changes until one morning when Lilly, Dot and Maggie’s
wrangler lover Brake (Aaron Eckhart) go out to brand some calves and never return.
All but Lilly are eventually accounted for. Lilly has been kidnapped by an Apache
named Chidin (Eric Schweig) and his bloodthirsty renegades, who plan to sell
her and other young abductees into white slavery in Mexico. With no help from
the Army, Maggie turns to her estranged father Jones (Tommy Lee Jones), an expert
tracker.
If you’re thinking that this all sounds very much like The Searchers,
well, it is, right down to specific lines of dialogue that echo that John Wayne
classic. Of course, that film added extra drama to Wayne’s quest by making his
character a virulent racist. Howard’s approach is more politically correct:
Maggie may not like Indians all that much, but she does provide them with free
medical care, and white men are shown to be in cahoots with Chidin’s gang.
Jones has played this type of craggy, sardonic outsider often enough to have
it down to a science. He’s very good, as usual, and provides The Missing
with an occasional flash of welcome humor. Blanchett does nice work too with
a character that is not so interesting — Maggie is a bit too stubborn for her
own good — and her quieter scenes with Jones suggest a realistically uneasy
camaraderie. (MM)
What other critics are saying. . .
Bad Santa [R] Two cons, dressed as Santa and his elf,
work the holidays at malls. They’re not doing it to spread holiday cheer. “The
foulest holiday movie I’ve ever seen — and the funniest.”
(Mark Caro, Chicago
Tribune) ShowPlace West
Brother Bear [G] An American Indian gets turned into a bear. “A play-it-safe pastiche of familiar Disney tropes, from the senseless killing of a poor animal to the headstrong young adventurer to the ragtag comic relief to … well, you can fill in the rest.” (Gene Seymour, Newsday) Parkway Pointe
The Cat in the Hat [PG] The popular Dr. Seuss tale comes to life in
a film starring Mike Myers. “Comes scarily close to being the most unendurable
Hollywood creation of the last dozen years.” (Michael Atkinson, Village Voice)ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Elf [PG] A giant elf (Will Ferrell) wreaks havoc on an elf community
so he’s sent away to find his true identity. “Wan Christmas concoction.” (Ed
Park, Village Voice) Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace East
Gothika [R] A ghost story, in which a psychiatrist (Halle Berry) wakes
up as a patient with no memory of committing a terrible crime. “Logic is tossed
out the window, chased down the road and abused so roundly that it never comes
back.” (Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer) Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace
East
Haunted Mansion [PG] A ghost teaches a workaholic the importance of
family during a visit to a haunted house.“I know I’ll take some sort
of perverse pleasure in watching Eddie Murphy terrorized by dark spirits.” (Joshua
Tyler, Film Hobbit) ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Honey [PG-13]Honey (Jessica Alba) is a music
video choreographer whose mentor demands she sleep with him or be blacklisted.
“Showgirls without the flying french fries; Hardball on the dance
floor; Flashdance with less grease and elbow.”(Ed Gonzalez, Slant
Magazine) Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace East
Love Actually [R] Five weeks before Christmas, and love is in the air
for a large cast of characters who converge in London. “A roundly entertaining
romantic comedy, Love Actually is still nearly as cloying as it is funny.”
(Todd McCarthy, Variety) Parkway Pointe
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World [PG-13]A sailing
tale told against the backdrop of Napoleonic wars. “A rousing high-seas adventure
that sweeps you into another world.” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) Parkway
Pointe, ShowPlace East
The Matrix Revolutions [R]Third and final installment of the
Matrix series.“Conclusively proves that the Wachowskis had little
substantial to add to the premise of the 1999 original.” (Rene Rodriguez, Miami
Herald) ShowPlace West
The Missing [R]A father comes back home to reconcile with his
adult daughter in 19th-century New Mexico. “The second good Western of the year
comes, surprisingly, from director Ron Howard.” (Laura Clifford, Reeling
Reviews) ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Mystic River [R] Three childhood friends are reunited after one loses
a daughter. “A haunting, ambitious but ultimately flawed film that treads some
of the same somber moral territory director Clint Eastwood explored in Unforgiven.”
(Jonathan Foreman, New York Post) ShowPlace West
Radio [PG] The story of a relationship between a mentally-challenged
man nicknamed “Radio” and a prominent high school football coach. “A lot of
whitewash is poured over a subject solely to wring emotion from the hapless
viewer.” (Jami Bernard, New York Daily News)ShowPlace West
Timeline [PG-13] Archaeological students become trapped in 14th-century
France when they go there to retrieve their professor. “The book was mediocre
at best… this adaptation is insipid.” (David Foucher, Here Boston)
Parkway Pointe, ShowPlace East
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2003.
