| It is often said that a sequel
is never as good as the original, let alone a
better product. In many cases, this is true; the
second entry in a series just fails to live up
to the first. Though it is entertaining, Lady
Snowblood (1973) is a film whose merit
and cinematic potency is rather inadequate, however.
Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance
makes up for many of the flaws of its predecessor,
and actually rises to shine as a much better installment
in the series. The plot is linear and coherent,
the fights are brilliantly choreographed, the
clarity and cinematography is vivid, and finally
there are some notable scenes of social commentary.
Though there are a few flaws (the music and the
jittery camera movies for example) they are easily
outshined by the better aspects. It is a shame
it isn't as widely known or accepted as the first
(I only learned of its existence when I was in
the process of ordering Lady
Snowblood (1973) from Barnes & Noble).
Nevertheless, Lady Snowblood: Love Song of
Vengeance beats the stereotype of the direct
sequel, and it excels well beyond preconceived
notions.
At the dawn of the 20th Century,
shortly following the Russo-Japanese War, an increasingly
impoverished lower class was stewing as others
used the post-war arena for purposes of exploitation
and the acquisition of power. Among the turmoil
of the domestic instability, Yuki Shurayuki, aka
Lady Snowblood, continued to walk the "road
of carnage" through the wilderness of Japan.
She had survived her encounters with Kobue Takemura
and Gishiro Tsukamoto over a decade earlier, but
in her travels, she continually came across the
police, and became gradually more exhausted as
time slowly progressed. One day she arrived at
the shore, with a small army of officers awaiting
her arrival. The "Netherworlds Snow Lady"
fought valiantly, but relented to a wound she
had received a day earlier. The infamous Lady
Snowblood finally surrendered.
Imprisoned, Yuki became accustomed
to the fact that her tortured life would soon
be over. Events would not transpire as planned,
however. As she was led to the gallows on the
fateful day of her execution, a strange man with
a sinister smile hijacked the carriage and led
her to the ornate domicile of Seishiro Kikui.
This mysterious individual revealed that he had
saved Yuki's life so he could utilize her talents
for a mission of utmost importance. Yuki would
have to recover a secret document from the home
of an anarchist by the name of Ransui Tokunaga,
and when the document was in her posession, Ransui
would have to be slain. Lady Snowblood ultimately
agreed, and she infiltrated the anarchist's home
as a simple maid. Ransui saw through the government's
tricks, and in time, revealed the truth to Yuki.
He knew her identity, and informed her of the
true importance of the document. It contained
a series of conversations between high-ranking
officials, debunking the so-called anarchists'
"rebellion" of the previous year...
and proving the whole situation to be a farce
by government officials as an attempt to rid themselves
of their ideological enemies. Yuki, understanding
the full scope of the situation, defected to Ransui's
cause, not for anarchy, but for justice.
Higher-ups continued to monitor
the situation, and the Secret Police finally found
a method by which to detain Ransui. Accused of
aiding and abetting wanted criminal Lady Snowblood,
Ransui was arrested as Yuki just managed to escape
into the river toward Tokyo... where she dragged
her injured body to the slums in order to locate
Dr. Shusuke Tokunaga, Ransui Tokunaga's estranged
brother. Upon receiving the information in the
document and learning of his brother's fate, he
reacted indifferently to the cause. Instead, he
wished to use the letter as blackmail to aid those
in the slums with whom he lived. While recovering,
Yuki uncovered one of Kikui's spies (her rescuer
from earlier), and the suspicious inhabitants
of the slums slowly tortured him in order to force
him to reveal his purpose there. Even with his
arm amputated, his face scarred, and his body
bruised, he refused to talk and managed to escape.
As Dr. Tokunaga contemplated his demands and Yuki
continued to heal her wounds, Ransui was severely
beaten at the police station, injected with the
bubonic plague, and tossed aside on the road,
where Aya Tokunaga, his wife, looked on helplessly.
She brought her lover to Dr. Tokunaga, and though
his grudge against Ransui and Aya was still burning
inside (for she was once his wife prior to the
war), he assisted his brother nevertheless. Ransui
was put into quarantine as Aya journeyed to the
police station, where she gouged the eye of one
of the top officials in retribution. The guards
murdered Aya, as Ransui continued to suffer from
the plague. Finally, he died, and was set sailing
out to sea on a burning boat... with Dr. Tokunaga
watching on in reserved but visible pain. In time,
he had also contracted the disease, and as he
suffered, he created a list of demands in exchange
for the disappearance of the dire information
that the secret document contained. He requested
130,000 yen and 800 barrels of rice to be distributed
among the slums, and he sent Yuki to deliver this
ultimatum...
At Kikui's mansion, Lady Snowblood
threatened to reveal the truth and unleash her
sword if Dr. Tokunaga's demands weren't met...
but Kikui requested time to fulfill their wishes
and allowed her a place to stay for the night.
Kikui, desiring only to rid himself of the document
even at the expense of dozens of innocent lives,
set fire to the slums of Tokyo. When Yuki learned
of this, she fought her way out of the mansion,
and when she discovered the human remains and
utter devastation, she also found Dr. Tokunaga,
barely hanging onto life as he clutched the document
in his grasp. Yuki helped him to his feet, and
after they recovered as best they could, the duo
finally cornered those responsible. Yuki killed
a number of Kikui’s men and his superior,
but was wounded in the process. Dr. Tokunaga was
fatally wounded, but he managed to immobilize
Kikui with his blade. Yuki finished the job, and
kneeled beside Dr. Tokunaga as his life slowly
slipped away. Those evil men who had caused so
much devastation were finally defeated.
The flow and composition of the
overall story is somewhat refreshing in Lady
Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance as opposed
to its predecessor. Whereas Lady
Snowblood (1973) was a little haphazard
in its approach to the unfolding plot and the
setup of events both past and present, this movie
is quite linear and still manages to maintain
mystery and create suspense. The fact that Lady
Snowblood (1973) is a rather one-dimensional
story about vengeance, whereas Lady Snowblood:
Love Song of Vengeance contains much greater
depth with motives, allegiances, and commentary,
also shows how a linear approach to the progression
of events can really allow for a solid final product.
Speaking of the social commentary, its inclusion
in the plot shows a great deal of maturity in
the Snowblood duology. Basically, there
is the Marxist undertone of the conflict between
the "haves" and the "have-nots",
provided in a way where even those who don't empathize
with ideological revolutionaries can empathize
with the scenarios presented. There is Kikui,
who represents all that is evil with the "establishment";
his Machiavellian approach to ensure power leads
him to kill off an entire neighborhood of the
lower class, justified by a lie. The lower class,
starving and destitute, barely manages to linger
earlier in the movie, perhaps behind a veil of
hopelessness, but still with spirit. Nevertheless,
they seethe, as the government simply forgets
their plight (and sacrifice when concerning veterans),
and when “need be”, merely destroyed
them. Ransui and Shusuke Tokunaga’s notice
and hatred of these systems, though their approaches
to its resolution different, are the symbols of
the whole dilemma. The cruelty of Kikui and the
spirit and empathy of Ransui and Shusuke represent
both extremes of the conflict and commentary.
If there is one thing we've learned
about the Lady Snowblood movies, they
really make you detest a villain. Seishiro Kikui
is unrivaled in his ruthlessness; a cold, calculating
individual drunk on his own schemes for power,
and Shin Kishida portrays the role with chilling
expertise. His body language is excellent, as
he perfectly utilizes deliberate hand movements,
sly grins, and a downright evil tone to interact
with his fellow actors. The actors who play his
minions and superior present their characters
with such a sociopathic and sadistic air that
it is really difficult not to support their bloody
downfall. The actor whose character loses both
arms creates such a frightfully stoic, yet ironically
sadistically gleeful persona that it makes his
inclusion in the plot all the more unsettling.
The character development that lacked in the previous
film is now extant, and the protagonists luckily
don't suffer from the faults of the last entry.
Meiko Kaji's character lacks the want for personal
vengeance that was the most prevalent characteristic
of the previous film. Now then, what is her motive?
She has a lust for justice. The movie tells us
for years she has been working as an assassin
and has, in all, killed 37 people. She is constantly
hounded by the authorities. Early in the movie,
it's clear that she's exhausted, and is willing
to give up her life, which is now relatively meaningless
from the aspect of her purpose in the world. But,
she still holds strong, and when she is rescued
and sent on her mission, she learns of the truth
and wishes once again to fight for that which
she believed is just. Yuki's ally in this fight,
Juzo Itami's character, shows many dimensions
to his motives as well. As an anarchist, he immediately
comes across as a reckless revolutionary. But,
when the truth is shown that his character is
actually relatively peaceful and that he mourns
the loss of his fallen comrades while trying to
avenge them through the defeat of the officials
responsible for their misrepresentation, the audience
begins to warm up to his character and begins
to detest Kikui. Yoshio Harada, who plays his
brother, is likely the most developed of all the
characters, but the truth of his motives and personality
gradually comes to light throughout the course
of the film. At first, his indifference to his
brother's torture is very unusual, and as time
goes on, the audience starts to realize that it
may have something to do with Kazuko Yoshiyuki's
character: Aya Tokunaga. Ultimately, it is revealed
that during the war, Aya and Ransui betrayed him
and married, and from there, a deep-routed hatred
stemmed. Despite his hatred however, Harada's
character still felt for his brother, and took
care of him until his death. The demands the doctor
made, which was blackmail as opposed to vengeance,
also shed light onto his character. He wished
to help those fellow impoverished individuals
in the slum first and foremost, and he had finally
found a method by which this was possible. Unfortunately,
it ultimately led to their demise... With the
protagonists well developed, one wonders how the
acting was all around. There are no complaints.
Everyone does well with their respective characters,
and either lets you warm up to them or utterly
despise them... depending on their role.
The cinematography is excellent,
and it really shows maturity from the last film.
There is one lapse that remains from the original
movie, and that is the jittery camera movement.
Fortunately, the shaking is less pronounced than
last time, but certainly a smoother technique
would have created a flawless visual environment.
Now that the bad and ugly are covered, let's move
on to the good. The fight choreography is brilliant,
especially in the beginning of the film. Yuki
moving through the cemetery as assassins bundle
around, as she brings them all down with such
ease and grace, is a very smooth and stunning
scene. Like last time, the vermilion-dye-ish blood
makes its reappearance, and its exaggerated spraying
and flowing are also revived. The scene where
the arm comes off is particularly interesting
as it is really a stylish caricature of the whole
technique. The clarity of the film is another
bonus. Whereas Lady
Snowblood (1973) was a little
dim in this department, Lady Snowblood: Love
Song of Vengeance excels, featuring detailed
sets and an eclectic blend of colors and visuals.
Speaking of the varying environments, like the
last movie, there is a great deal of diversity.
However, this time there is much more. From a
sunny beach, to the Tokyo slums, to the ornate
mansion of a top official, and to the stony steps
on a green hill, there is enough to keep the audience’s
eyes attuned and interested.
Music, unfortunately, is the one true flaw of
the movie. It is the weakest link, simply because
it detracts from the enjoyment of certain scenes.
It often has a muffled sound and isn’t very
melodic at all. Bottom line: not that catchy.
The music really doesn't compliment the fighting,
and every fight scene accompanied by music would
be better off silent. The rickshaw scene with
Yuki and Ransui however, is useful as it could
make the audience grin. This particular track
sounds like it should be called "Rickshaw
Patrol". You'll know what I mean when you
hear it. However, the true insult to the soundtrack
is the fact that "Flower of Carnage"
did not make a reemergence this time around, as
it was the key piece in the musical lineup of
the previous film. One could find it difficult
to deny that music-wise, this film just doesn't
live up, but luckily, the other aspects that make
this film great make up for it.
Like last time, there are a few
aspects of the plot that visibly inspired Kill
Bill and Kill Bill Vol. 2. In this
movie, they aren’t all that numerous, and
are actually specific actions as opposed to entire
events. One of Kikui's henchmen loses an arm early
in the movie, and loses his other arm later on;
see Sofie in Kill Bill. Another of his
henchmen loses one eye, and then during a later
fight, loses his other, much like Elle Driver
in Kill Bill Vol. 2. That's pretty much
where the obvious inspiration ends, although when
Yuki chops off Kikui's henchman's arm, not only
is the actual losing of an arm similar, but the
actions and reactions of the actors are pretty
close too. Unless I'm missing something else,
however, I can't see any other obvious forms of
inspiration that Tarantino would ultimately use
in his movies.
Finally, I should post a few warnings
for the viewer of this film. Even in a modern
sense, this particular movie could foreseeably
receive an R rating. Though some people are fine
with certain aspects of a violent, sexual, or
controversial nature, I completely understand
and empathize with people who would rather avoid
a few things. For one, there is a brief scene
of frontal nudity near the beginning of the film,
where Kazuo Yashiyuki and Juzo Itami's character
are involved in a rather intimate exchange. Later
on in the film, there is a brief scene of child
nudity, although unlike last time when the justification
was completely non-existent, this time it was
used to show just how impoverished the slums of
Tokyo actually were. Nevertheless: warning
to audience. The violence in this film is
a little more brutal than the previous Lady
Snowblood (1973) as well, especially
during the torture scenes as those seem to linger.
One should expect cutting, caning, and general
beatings from these parts of the movie. Also,
let me just post a final warning about such extremes
like arm-slicing, eye-gouging, and profuse eruptions
of blood. So, with all these warnings in hand,
you can make an educated decision of whether or
not this particular film will be on your must-see
list.
When it all comes together, Lady
Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance is just
a better product than the movie that spawned the
franchise. Unfortunately, as
Lady
Snowblood (1973) itself is a little
known film only really popularized by its inspiration
to Kill Bill, Lady Snowblood: Love
Song of Vengeance is an even more obscure
title on the market. Even still, it is definately
well worth the time of diehard samurai fans and
general cinema aficionados alike.
|
(4/5)