Samurai with an Edge

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2003)

According to Master Sword-Maker, Hattori Hanzo, in "Kill Bill: Vol. 1":
"Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest. And like a forest, it's easy to lose your way... to get lost... to forget where you came in."
This pretty much embodies Director/Writer Quentin Tarantino's whacked, edgy, adrenadalized, and exquisitely crafted "Kill Bill: Vol. 1". It is one of the best movies of the year, and by far the year's Coolest Movie. Like the quote from Hanzo (played by the great action star/ martial artist Sonny Chiba), "Kill Bill" is singular in purpose: a vengeance tale with a stylized narrative which includes some awesome use of Anime. Tarantino is in masterful form with his trademark expletive alliterated dialog, and over the top whacked sense of humor. This is genius, given the Bushido virtues of Justice, Courage, Benevolence, Honor, and Loyalty ["Bushido", Inazo Nitobe]. Sense of Humor is NOT one of the distinguished virtues. Therefore, having one is good for us in Vol. 1. Tarantino did his homework on Bushido (The Way of the Samurai). Inherent in the Samurai culture (and Japanese culture) is the dichotomy between exquisite beauty and extreme dispassionate brutality. Tarantino nails this in Vol. 1. In a movie scene O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) wearing an impeccable white kimono, recites a haiku in the middle of a snow covered garden before a fight to the death with The Bride (Uma Thurman). This is simply mesmerizing.
In Vol. 1, The Bride (amazing Uma Thurman) embarks on her path of vengeance. The joke is that we really don't know her name-- Director's choice. She has one over on Clint Eastwood in the Sergio Leone movies. The Bride was a member of an elite group of assassins all working for the mysterious Bill (an unseen David Caradine). However, when she decides to leave, her crew (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) put the hit on the pregnant Bride, and her husband at the wedding in an El Paso church. The Bride (Thurman) miraculously survives, and is in a coma for 4 years. Upon awakening from the coma, The Bride, vows to call it "square". A critical element in her path of vengeance is finding Hattori Hanzo (Chiba) to make her the classic katana to dispatch those who betrayed her.
Tarantino's "Bill" is an homage to classic samurai movies and westerns, and at it's heart is Uma Thurman. Uma Thurman is awesome. Her character is strong, smart, and singular in focus-- the ultimate in single tasking. She also has a wicked wry sense of humor in her delivery. She is so good at masking any of her character's vulnerability; thus, making her empathetic. The scene where she awakes from her coma is both hysterical and chilling. She looks great, and is in great shape. Her fighting scenes are Bushido. She fights with expedience, precision, and dispassion. There is an obscene beauty in dispatching one's opponent with a single strike. It's great to see Sonny Chiba as Hanzo-- the spiritual anchor. Perhaps in Vol. 2 he will display his technical prowess? Lucy Liu as the half breed Japanese O-Ren Ishii, Yakuza Leader, is stunning. Liu delicately balances bi-polar Ishii's beauty and ruthlessness. Liu has a classic scene in which one of her subordinates questions her leadership, because she is an American and... half Chinese. Again, Tarantino did his homework. The fight between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii will be a movie classic, much like Thurman's astonishing battle with Ishii's henchmen. The joke seems to be that The Bride is really learning to use the katana, so she sometimes holds the sword like a baseball bat. However, in battle she uses the more classic form.
Props to Tarantino, Thurman, Liu, Chiba, and Fox on killer movie. This is the year's best. Really. "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" is the zenith of pop culture movie-making. Can't wait until Vol. 2 in February.