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Directed by: Toshiya Fujita Starring: Meiko Kaji From the plot synopsis and reviews I’ve read, Lady Snowblood didn’t sound especially interesting. It promised great action and blood flying everywhere in similar fashion to the Baby Cart series, but the revenge plot sounded a little tired, especially after Kill Bill, which was of course heavily influenced by Snowblood itself, and I wasn’t looking forward to watching the same old story over again. Much to my surprise, this was an incredibly entertaining and lively film, and the somewhat cliché storyline was kept fresh with interesting twists on the old themes of revenge and redemption. The movie follows Yuki (Meiko Kaji) as she tries to avenge her family by hunting down the four thugs who murdered her father and brother and raped her mother. Yuki was born in prison after her Mother was sentenced to life imprisonment, and spent her entire life training for the chance to slay the four villains. The story is told in an episodic structure, with each mission occupying its own chapter, with flashbacks to Yuki’s past to provide back-story and character development along the way. At the heart of the film’s success is Meiko Kaji, a vastly underrated actress of great talent. She also appeared in the excellent Female Prisoner Scorpion series, and revived the character of Yuki in a sequel to Lady Snowblood, but not much else of her work has made it stateside yet. She has an incredibly fierce gaze, as cold as her character’s namesake, and whenever she begins to stare down some unfortunate, you can count on limbs flying and blood spilling in a matter of seconds. She is also able to express emotion quite well, and she pulls of the dramatic scenes as well as the action. She also has a beautiful singing voice, and she sings the theme song to this film (which was featured at the end of the House of Blue Leaves sequence in Kill Bill) and the theme from the Scorpion series. The character is Yuki is surprisingly well developed throughout the film, and isn’t just a heartless killing machine like the ones in other revenge flicks and exploitation films. She has conflicts about her life as a “child of the netherworld” and interacting with the rest of the world, though she always remains focused on the task at hand. The training sequences are very effective at showing her development into a killer from a small child, and the relationships with other characters she begins to develop are interesting and show the dynamics of the character. The action is very similar to the sword fights in the Baby Cart series, though it isn’t quite as outrageous (but what could match a baby carriage with a gattling gun anyway?). The blood flies aplenty, and Yuki tears through guards and baddies with great finesse as she closes in on her targets. Her weapon is somewhat similar to Zatoichi’s cane sword, but instead using an umbrella as the method of disguise, a somewhat feminized variation of the classic weapon. The directing style is brilliant and innovative. There are some really beautiful compositions featured throughout the film, such as the framing of the prison window and the snowfall in the background. The integration of still images from the manga into the film adds a nice touch, and helps transition the film into flashbacks and memories. The episodic structure helps keep the pace of the film moving steady as well. The most interesting aspect of the revenge theme in the film is the lack of satisfaction Yuki gets from carrying out her duty. She isn’t at all reluctant to kill, but she never expresses enjoyment. There are also a few twists that throw a wrench or two into her mission that prevent any sort of gratification as well, turning to story into something of a tragedy. The political backdrop for the film is the Meiji era and the modernization/westernization of Japan. In addition, the crime that sets everything into action is motivated by the changes that are coming to Japan, and the pressure to keep up with the outside world. The climactic scene takes place during a ball where Japanese elite try to rub noses with Western weapons dealers and merchants, where the Blue Danube replaces the traditional music that is featured throughout the rest of the film, all of which hint at the inevitable collapse of traditional Japanese culture. Yuki’s revenge is something of a swan song for the code of bushido. This is an excellent film on every level. It’s a great treat for action fans, and is probably a better introduction to chambara films than the Baby Cart series. Revenge films are a dime a dozen, but this deserves its stature as one of the best of the genre. RATING: 5.0 PROS: great action, performace from Kaji, excellent directing and pacing CONS: cliched plot (but handled very well) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0158714/
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Jul 16, 2004 05:13
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 01:43 |
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Kill Bill fans can make a game of spotting characters, structures and specific shots Tarantino lifted from this movie there's a lot the casual interactions between yuki and her former caretakers seemed bizarre. they're the people who trained her to be a ruthless killing machine and also they still hang out on the weekends.
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Jul 17, 2004 00:20
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I was pleasantly suprised after watching this film, as I was sort of expecting a lackluster Japanese sword/revenge movie that I could drop in conversation to increase the size of my filmpenis. I too thought that Yuki's lack of satisfaction was one of the more interesting aspects of the film and character. This is especially true in the scene where Yuki comes across the dead and hanging female assassin. When she cuts away her legs from her torso, it seems as though she does so out of futility more than anything else. This film has a little bit of everything: Women-in-prison Prostitution Sword fights Blood spray Drug smuggling and more! 4.5/5
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Aug 25, 2004 17:08
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