| The age-old story about vengeance
is told with a slight twist. This time, it's a
woman kicking butt, and taking no prisoners on
her quest to avenge her broken family. In Lady
Snowblood, Yuki Shurayuki slices her way
through villain after villain, leaving a bloody
trail in her wake. Ultimately, the film has only
engraved a small stamp in cinematic history by
itself; however, it acts as the impetus to subsequent
strong female protagonist films and is the predecessor
to the highly acclaimed Kill Bill duology.
With plenty of action, excellent choreography,
and a unique approach to the samurai genre, Lady
Snowblood stands firm on its own two legs
as well.
In a time of civil unrest and widespread
corruption following the collapse of the Tokugawa
Shogunate, the unborn Yuki Shurayuki's parents
and brother arrived at Koichi Village in the year
1873, only to be met with terrible and unsuspected
resistance. Confusing Yuki's father with a government
official who could ultimately put a stop to their
schemes, four scam artists murdered the man and
his son. His wife, Sayo Kashima, was abducted,
raped, and taken forcibly as one of the men's
partners. Bent on revenge, Sayo murdered her attacker
during intercourse, and was arrested shortly thereafter.
In prison, she dreamed of giving birth to a child
who could ultimately carry out revenge against
the three remaining murderers she never had a
chance to destroy. Sayo engaged in intercourse
with several prison guards, and finally, she gave
birth. After a terribly painful and unbearable
labor, Sayo died. Yuki, her child, was taken to
the priest Dokai to train...
Twenty years passed and Yuki underwent
brutal preparation in her attempts to grow strong
and powerful. Finally, she was ready to commit
vengeance against those who dishonored and destroyed
her kin. She ventured out and met Matsuemon, who
managed to give her the whereabouts of one of
the murderers: Banzo Takemura. Yuki arrived in
the man's village and ironically managed to rescue
him from a ring of fierce gamblers. However, it
was all merely a ploy so she could exact her own
vicious vengeance. Staining the sea with blood,
Yuki cut Banzo near the shore, dragged his limp
body to the edge of a precipice, and let him plummet
into the sea below.
Returning to Matsuemon, Yuki learned
that the ringleader of the gang, Gishiro Tsukamoto,
had met his fate three years earlier during an
opium expedition at sea. Cutting his gravestone
with her blade and severing the buds of his flowers,
Yuki caught the attention of Ashio Ryurei... an
author of graphic newsletters. Upon learning her
story, he wanted to publicize it, for it could
ultimately lead them to extract the final villain,
Okono Kitahama, out of hiding. The widespread
distribution of the popular story of the “Netherworlds
Snow Lady” led to a strange occurrence one
night, when a group of police officers took Ashio
away and began to severely assault him. Soon,
the true scope of the situation became obvious
as Okono appeared from the shadows. Using him
as bait, Okono lured Yuki into her trap. Cutting
her way through Okono's resistance, she almost
managed to kill her enemy. Alas, Okono escaped,
and when she was located, it was discovered that
she was hanged! Suicide was the initial tacit
conclusion, and Yuki, unable to procure her own
retribution, had found a hollow victory. It would
soon come to light however, that Okono was not,
in fact, the victim of suicide. Someone else was
responsible...
Gishiro Tsukamoto was alive! Visiting
his son, Ashio Ryurei, he warned him to stop publicizing
the story of the “Netherworlds Snow Lady”.
Upon taking his leave, Gishiro passed Yuki on
the road. When she arrived at Ashio’s place
and learned the truth about the man she had just
encountered, she began to rush after him, desiring
his defeat. Ashio pleaded with Yuki not to harm
his father, for he felt that it was he who must
deal with him. They decided to attack together,
infiltrating a "Charity Masquerade"
at which Gishiro could be found that night. Yuki
was quick to locate Gishiro, and she quickly finished
him off! Alas, the man was, in truth, a decoy
(let me quickly interrupt and say this: worst
“it-was-a-mask” scene ever), and their
quarry was still at large. Yuki and Ashio ascended
the staircases to two separate balconies, and
Ashio faced his father head on. Gishiro wasn't
thrilled with his resistance, and he sent bullets
into his son several times. Ashio prevented him
from shooting Yuki however, and pled with her
to finish them both off, as it was the only way
to ensure victory. Leaping to a nearby chandelier,
Yuki swung to the adjacent balcony and sank her
sword deep into Ashio and Gishiro’s torso.
Unfortunately, Yuki was shot in the process, and
she struggled to escape the building. From the
distance, Banzo's daughter: Kobue Takemura, having
learned of the cause of her father's death, impaled
Yuki with a dagger. As she fell onto the soft
snow, gripping and grasping to ease the pain,
Yuki's strength was failing her. Her job was complete,
but her near future was definitely uncertain...
First, let's get down to business.
This is not an Akira
Kurosawa film; this is not an Ishiro
Honda film. This is a bloody, raunchy action
movie that doesn't really have any morals or symbolism...
it's just mindless entertainment. But the real
point here is: should we as the audience even
care? When you start to watch Lady Snowblood,
don't get the impression that you're about to
see cinematic potency at its best... just prepare
yourself for Xena-style kick-butt action. With
that said, the plot is pretty basic. Meiko Kaji's
character is simply out for revenge to kill the
people who raped her mother and murdered her "father"
and half-brother. That's it. She really doesn't
learn anything along the way. She doesn't develop
and isn’t really dynamic at all. Basically,
it's just "Kill Fest 1893": cinematic
violence with no real depth. She starts out as
a young child undergoing brutal training, which
is a little hard to watch, even though it is obviously
staged (let me interrupt quickly and point out
there is a short child nudity scene here, the
execution of which I have no idea how they could
possibly justify). Then, she becomes an adult
and starts kicking bad guy fanny. That’s
it. The same thinness is true with the other characters.
Toshio
Kurosawa's character: no real development;
he's just there to move the story along. The murderers:
no real development aside from the fact that they're
evil, and of course, they’re there to be
the targets of Yuki’s bloody revenge. Perhaps
though, there is an exception in Banzo Takemura's
character, who drowns eternally in his own shame;
or his daughter, loving and kind, but trapped
in a sick world of prostitution, and ultimately,
vengeance. As for everyone else, there really
is only a little development: mostly either a
motivation for revenge or a motivation to bring
death or suffering to the avenger. Well, even
if the characters aren’t very round, how’s
the acting, you might ask? What is there to say
about it? Nothing, really. It doesn't excel, but
it also isn't bad. It's just a lot of age-old
melodrama. For those people hoping to see Rashomon
II, sorry, you've come to the wrong place.
But for those who want to see the predecessor
to another equally mind-numbing, but highly entertaining
movie: Kill Bill, then they've come to
the right place.
It's basically entertainment, as
previously stated, but when you're simply appealing
to that standard, you'd best have some good visuals
as a safety net. Luckily, this movie manages to
stay interesting and fresh, with everything from
well-choreographed swordsmanship, to unique blood
effects, to apropos environmental conditions.
First thing's first: swordsmanship. The old school
“hack-‘em-until-they're-dead”
policy is beginning to shift into the “dance”
to which modern moviegoers are accustomed. There
is slight-of-wrist, smooth swings, stylish steps,
long distance leaps, and spin jumps (accompanied
by that now cliché Six Million Dollar
Man sound effect). Although the swordplay
is a little less than one would hope for, it doesn't
lag in any way. Of course, it would be nothing
without the exaggerated blood effects. The blood,
with its appearance like acrylic vermilion dye
and the powerful spray that often accompanies
its arrival, creates quite a rich and a disgusting
display. Perhaps it lacks in realism, but again,
allow me to reiterate: it’s pure entertainment.
Though not always accompanying the battles, the
scenery used is also interesting and noteworthy.
From the glow of an autumnal day, to the dark
mystery of a snowy night, to a gloomy house, and
a well-lit masquerade ball (an ironic scene for
a climactic fight), there are few shots that are
hard on the eyes. Perhaps the only real flaw is
the jittery camera movements from time to time,
but luckily those are outshined by the better
shots.
"The Flower of Carnage",
to get right into the music discussion, is probably
the best piece from the track. It is also the
only song, and it plays during the opening and
closing of the movie. The music is slightly depressing,
but the singing is beautiful, and it fits the
tone of the movie perfectly. Other than that,
there is an assortment of tracks that aren't very
memorable. For the most part, they have a very
contemporary 70s movie soundtrack style, and don't
pull away from the norm for the most part. Getting
back to the original point, "The Flower of
Carnage" is the best track of this film.
In fact, it must have had a great effect on Quentin
Tarantino, because he ultimately used the song
in his critically acclaimed movie Kill Bill.
Although, as mentioned even earlier, this whole
movie is partly the inspiration for Kill Bill,
and in a modern since, that is Lady Snowblood’s
claim to fame.
Speaking of the similarities to
Kill Bill, these instances are fairly
numerous. There is the woman (Sayo and Yuki together
equal the Bride) seeking her revenge against a
group of people who wronged her loved ones. There
are the murderous villains, led by a ruthless
ringleader, who are killed one-by-one along the
path of vengeance (although in both cases, not
everyone is killed by the protagonist). There
is the cruel teacher, the distraught murderer's
daughter, and the vicious henchmen (the "Crazy
88" in Kill Bill). Characters aside,
the actual cinematography in Kill Bill
resembles Lady Snowblood as well, as
the opening scene with Sayo breathing heavily
in pain is similar to the Bride's opening scene.
Also, the shot of Sayo looking up at the villains
is also similar in nature to the perspective used
at certain times in Kill Bill. The numerous
flashbacks strewn throughout the plot in a somewhat
haphazard, although specifically detailed fashion,
is also a similarity. There is the snowy, nighttime
environment at the end of each movie too, with
a bloody woman in a white kimono. As far as the
special effects are concerned, the exaggerated
execution of the squirting, spraying, and spewing
blood effects is eerily (and disgustingly) consistent
in both movies. The overall intensity of both
films is similiar, in that each is a little higher
than similar films from their respective contemporary
periods. Other ways that these movies are alike
include the division of the film into chapters
and the use of non-live action sequences to tell
certain events that occurred in the past (illustrations
in Lady Snowblood and anime in Kill
Bill). Finally, as mentioned above, even
the music from this movie is used in Kill
Bill; perhaps the number one key to its inspirational
ties. Although, when one sums up the whole list,
one must realize that there are also a lot of
dissimilarities. Basically Kill Bill
is an homage to this film, and other films of
this and similar genres.
In the end, it's very easy to miss
this particular entry in the samurai genre. Lady
Snowblood is buried under the success of
the film that drew inspiration from this movie.
Its merits, which really aren't groundbreaking,
don't bring the movie into the limelight. Nevertheless,
the inspiration it gave subsequent movies and
the gender role reversal are its two greatest
assets, and these aspects will ensure that this
movie won't be lost in years to come.
|
(3/5)