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 you all know
that i, a tom cruise fans, won’t be missing this one. even though I’m not a big
fan of war movies (actually haven’t even seen the most infamous ones
such as black hawk down and saving private ryan), I found this
one the very stunning.
the scenes are magnificent, and together with the performance
of tom cruse and ken watanabe (& the whole cast, acutally),
it is worth the wait.
(the first time I saw the trailer was in what? may 03? I still remember myself
stunned by it, saying to the person sitting next ot me “this one
is a MUST-watch.”)
from the time
when algren was captured by katsumoto, the movie turned into a
rpg (role-playing game).
a foreigner, placed in an unknown place, not knowing where
to go and do, trying to interpret the words of a foreign dialect,
finding clues to the mystery behind why this ruthless general still
kept him alive. the
audience has to go through his adventures with him, as in a rpg.
always
interested in both western and oriental cultures. wanna study on these
topics if course selection at universities are not all based on
credits and grades. anywayz,
of all the oriental cultures, the japanese is, to me, the most
mysterious. the
symbols and representation of temples and gods, and in this case,
the samurai, have its root from the chinese culture, and yet, is
unique on its own.
discipline is
the very quality that gained my respect for these people. “from the moment they
wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they
pursue.“ not
only does this awe algren (tom cruise), a foreigner, even i, from
the 21st century, having have some degree of knowledge
of their customes (usually from games and magazines), can’t
understand their concentration, and am quite envy for such quality
at the same time. is
“no mind” the key for this, and i, in contradiction, have way “too many mind”? (believe it or not, these
ppl nowadays still possess such quality, that’s why they have
such success in life.)
they live a simple life, “and yet I
have never seen a people with more capacity for the
joy found in the simplest things of life.” said
algren. if only i can
live like them, getting the most joy out of what i already
have. if only people
are satisfied with their already-luscious lives. so it all comes to the
infamous quote from the trailer that you all must have
remembered: “what
do you want from me?”
“what do you want for yourself?”. these phrases (and the contradictory
expressions of the aggravated algren and the calm katsumoto) provide
such great reflection on one’s life. what do you want for yourself in life? do you truly know? but if you do not know,
why are you living the way you are living?
the following
dialogue between the two strikes me as another reflection on
life: when battling omura’s
army for the last time, katsumoto, ready to die, asked algren on the
battlefield, “you believe a man can change his destiny?” “no…but I think a man
cannot know his destiny.
he can only do what he can, until his destiny is revealed.” i was once asked if i believe
in fate, to which i answered
yes. the person
asking the question, on the other hand, said he believed in
changing his own destiny.
i was not trying to convince him of my view, but i guess
what i was trying to explain was algren’s answer to the same
question. this is the very attitude I’m
looking forward to attain.
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