[Borges]

That's the way some people have interpreted it. Michael Medved I think. No one can know for sure. Allegories can be tricky.

[Modernman]

I don't really see it. The Cruise character doesn't really sell out his own nation. He goes to Japan as a mercenary but ends up switching to another Japanese faction in an internal power struggle. The US had interests in Japan, but neither the Japanese government nor the rebel samurai were enemies of the US.

Like you said, allegories are tricky. I see the movie as dealing more with a rejection of modernity and a return to simpler times. A pretty common theme in literature, I guess.