"Kill Bill: Vol. 1" finds its director Quentin Tarantino weaving his stylized action with such a mastery that anyone whose eyebrows aren't too high up couldn't help but be in awe. This is blood, gore, violence and sex uplifted to an artform. More than separate stylization, style its embedded in this picture to the point where it becomes inseparable from its plot. This is a director who is not afraid of using his power and making his spot. Tarantino movies are obvious on who is directing them, this more than any of them.
The movie is filled with characters virtuously crafted with a freedom which dares to challenge the standard norms of storytelling and progression. Describing its locations and people would make one succumb to poetry not necessarily because of their beauty but rather because of their details. Consider the final confrontation which takes place in a Japanese garden. There is a traditional Japanese fountain from which water constantly flows and during the tense pause, our attention is drawn to it and its rhythmic sound materializes the pace.
Consider the plot: after awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin known only as The Bride (Uma Thurman) wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her. Despite being left for dead in a pool of blood, she survives. The first scene, pictured in black and white, has her laying on her back covered in an all too picturesque blood. The gruesomeness in some of these scenes is so beautifully crafted and written in such a sexy manner that I almost felt guilty for admiring it too much.
The plot then doesn't bother too much about making too much sense. The Bride gets revenge. That's about it. On that purpose, she easily travels from a comatose American hospital to Japan for her first target: mob boss O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). The story of her upbringing is a tragic one. This is one reason why Tarantino decided to film it in anime. Witnessing the death of her parents at the mob to only then get her revenge and her first kill at 11. While you still feel the tragedy, the style prevents you from weeping and, instead, crafts an admiration in the viewer's mind towards her.
This sneaky feminism--despite unraveling in front of our very eyes--goes almost unnoticed under the sprites of blood. But before accusing Tarantino of being all style no substance, he made sure to drag these ladies through hellish ordeals, and gave them a look and aura which emanates his trademark dangerous stance they pose. The most obvious is O-Ren's protégé, the 17-year old Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) who doesn't flinch for a second when she spilled the guts of a rich snob who wanted to have sex with her. "It is me who is penetrating you" she says as he dies. Her schoolgirl uniform combined with the array of wacky melee weapons she uses makes her an in-and-out anime character brought to life--with all the coolness that entails.
No doubt, the 4th film by Quentin Tarantino is made by a director/writer who sees miles ahead in front of him. He is in full control of his universe yet this never feels compulsive because of what a wacky, emotionless and ridiculous universe it is. If he were to play the violin, this is not an operatic part, but rather an avant-garde piece of solo bravado from a rock-n-roll song.
The movie is filled with characters virtuously crafted with a freedom which dares to challenge the standard norms of storytelling and progression. Describing its locations and people would make one succumb to poetry not necessarily because of their beauty but rather because of their details. Consider the final confrontation which takes place in a Japanese garden. There is a traditional Japanese fountain from which water constantly flows and during the tense pause, our attention is drawn to it and its rhythmic sound materializes the pace.
Consider the plot: after awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin known only as The Bride (Uma Thurman) wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her. Despite being left for dead in a pool of blood, she survives. The first scene, pictured in black and white, has her laying on her back covered in an all too picturesque blood. The gruesomeness in some of these scenes is so beautifully crafted and written in such a sexy manner that I almost felt guilty for admiring it too much.
The plot then doesn't bother too much about making too much sense. The Bride gets revenge. That's about it. On that purpose, she easily travels from a comatose American hospital to Japan for her first target: mob boss O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). The story of her upbringing is a tragic one. This is one reason why Tarantino decided to film it in anime. Witnessing the death of her parents at the mob to only then get her revenge and her first kill at 11. While you still feel the tragedy, the style prevents you from weeping and, instead, crafts an admiration in the viewer's mind towards her.
This sneaky feminism--despite unraveling in front of our very eyes--goes almost unnoticed under the sprites of blood. But before accusing Tarantino of being all style no substance, he made sure to drag these ladies through hellish ordeals, and gave them a look and aura which emanates his trademark dangerous stance they pose. The most obvious is O-Ren's protégé, the 17-year old Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) who doesn't flinch for a second when she spilled the guts of a rich snob who wanted to have sex with her. "It is me who is penetrating you" she says as he dies. Her schoolgirl uniform combined with the array of wacky melee weapons she uses makes her an in-and-out anime character brought to life--with all the coolness that entails.
No doubt, the 4th film by Quentin Tarantino is made by a director/writer who sees miles ahead in front of him. He is in full control of his universe yet this never feels compulsive because of what a wacky, emotionless and ridiculous universe it is. If he were to play the violin, this is not an operatic part, but rather an avant-garde piece of solo bravado from a rock-n-roll song.