47 Ronin - Some Skepticism Please

The other Ronin, not so important!

Ken's about to leave for Fukuoka this year as he does annually. I got to meet up with him before his departure, and we hit the movies and watched 47 Ronin. Heard of it? It's one of (if not the first?) Hollywood movie to ever get released in Japan's theaters before America's - they usually take several months before making it to this side. But there's a reason for that, you see. If you couldn't guess by the movie title, the movie takes place in Japan! It's based on the famous Japanese story of the 47 master-less samurai who got revenge for their slain lord. You can read about the famous parade celebrating the happening here, but, the story goes,

 "A feudal lord was forced by law to commit suicide after assaulting a court official, leaving his loyal samurai masterless. After a 2 year plot, the samurai in turn avenged their master by slaying the court official and committing suicide themselves. It's a story that's referenced for its connotations of loyalty and determination in the face of duty."

The movie version stars Keanu Reeves alongside a bunch of actual Japanese actors, and that's neat. And I just want to make it clear that I didn't hate the movie. It's entertaining. I took it for what it is - it's a popcorn flick, and I guess you judge those by different standards than you would a movie that earns itself the right to be taken more seriously.
 I don't want to talk about plot (at least, not in detail) or how the actors did or what the movie looks like, but rather...how odd it must be for a Japanese person to look at the movie, think about the well-known actual story, and ponder the differences and similarities.
 In 47 Ronin, Japan is portrayed as a place of magic and fantasy and dragons! And that's alright, right? Medieval Europe is often portrayed the same way. But consider this - the actual story of the 47 Ronin happened in the 18th century. That's...not such a long time ago, folks. George Washington was president of the United States during the 18th century. Whoops!

Legit as fuck.

 The American movie being released in Japan first is a strange way of directing the attention of Japanese viewers to it, in a naive way. It's as if Hollywood was saying, look! Look, Japan! This is what Americans think feudal Japan was like! Or so I felt. Do you get what I mean to say?
 What if Japanese cinema made a movie about the aforementioned George Washington example, and the premise went like this:

"The American Revolutionary War nears its end...but in the face of the Yetis and Bear-Riding British warriors, the revolutionaries head towards bitter defeat. Little is it known, though, that the Great Warlord George Washington, raised by the great bald eagles, has a plan to turn this war on its heels. Armed with his two laser guns, named Freedom and Eagle, George sets forth to battle the British and reclaim peace for his people."

Also, the movie would be in Japanese.

"Father, why are we speaking in English?"

 No, think about it! They just pulled that shit off! What kind of reaction did they expect?
 Ken left the theater really confused, and I can't say my brain drank it all down so easily either. It's not like the movie was bad, it was just, well, queer. But hey! Feel free to check it out and tell me about your own reaction!