kILL bILL Volume 1
I can’t think of any film released this year that can even hope to generate as much hype as Kill Bill has. Speaking for myself, the film I most eagerly waited for this year was Kill Bill, even much more than, dare I say, the two Matrices.The 4th film by Quentin Tarantino(QT) after a six-year hiatus.Need I say more?
Director: Quentin Tarantino.
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu.
Duration:101 mins
Content: Above 18
This is gonna be a difficult review for me to write coz my judgment would at all times be clouded with QT and Uma Thurman. Yes lets pause for a moment and think about Uma Thurman. Uma, the way she looks at you, the way she looks in her different moods hmm the way Uma moves, sigh, Uma right, Uma... er..Hold on! I’m still writing a review here. Anyway, seeing as I’d probably mention the name Uma a thousand times in this review I would refer to her as UT.(btw did you realize that this gives the words I love U(T) a whole new meaning). Word from the horse’s mouth is, that during the days of Pulp Fiction, QT and UT were once sitting in a bar called ’’Daily Pint’’, when they conjured up this character of an assassin (believe me they had to be drunk to think of this) during their prolonged ’’what if’’ sessions, which later laid the foundation for Kill Bill. So what is it about?
Brief story I can’t talk much about the story (to be honest there’s hardly anything to talk about). I would just try and explain the gist of the situation to you. There is a deadly group of assassins know as the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad or D(i)VAS.Meet the members of the squad:
David Carradine -> ’’Bill’’ (the boss)
UT -> ’’The Bride’’ aka ’’Black Mamba’’ (the main protagonist)
Daryl Hannah -> Elle Driver (the evil one-eyed blonde)
Lucy Liu -> O-Ren Ishii (the Yakutza samurai)
Michael Madsen -> Budd
Vivica Fox -> Copperhead
One must assume that UT is the deadliest of them all. For reasons unknown, UT went into hiding for a long time and is now planning to marry. Unfortunately, the remaining D(i)VAS sniff her out and violently interrupt her nuptials, killing every living soul in sight and beating her up badly. At this time UT is pregnant with a 8 month old baby. Bill (whose face is not shown for the entirety of the film) aims the gun at UT’s face and shoots her in the head. But seconds before that, virtually when Bill was pressing the trigger it would seem, UT tells him that the baby is his (Bill’s). When this unfortunate event occurred UT was obviously wearing a brides wedding dress. Subsequently, throughout the movie UT would now be referred to as ’’The Bride’’, although it is revealed at one point later that her D(i)VAS given codename was ’’Black Mamba’’. Her real name would perhaps only be revealed in the sequel (Volume II).Hold on! What are we talking about? Wasn’t this lady shot in the head? Yes, but she does not die although falls into a coma which lasts for 4 years. So what do you think she finds out when she finally wakes up? Apart from the fact that she remembers how mercilessly people were executed at her wedding, and the shocking realization that she has lost her child, she also finds out that a certain medical assistant has been using her comatose body for his perverted sexual pleasures.Of course the poor guy meets his fate soon when he finds out the many uses of a human head in door banging sports (I’ll let you see the gory details yourself). There is only one thing on UT’s mind: Revenge. And it is at this point where any resemblance to a plot or a story in Kill Bill ENDS. The whole objective of the film becomes fighting, killing and revenge - NON STOP. The film is divided into various ’’Chapters’’ (a total of 10 I believe). The chapters covered in Volume I are
’’2’’
The blood-splattered bride
The man From Okinawa
Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves (my favorite)
Analyzing Kill Bill With a plot that is as miniscule as Kareena Kapoors acting prowess and a story as versatile as Sunny Deol’s dancing abilities what does Kill Bill really have to offer? Well, Kill Bill is actually meant to be a homage to the Martial Arts films of the yesteryears.UT wearing a yellow tracksuit in chapter 4 is no coincidence, but a tribute to the legend himself, Bruce Lee in ’’The Game of Death’’. Tarantino has always been greatly influenced by the Hong Kong kung fu flicks and Japanese samurai movies of the past. I remember him saying once ’’Perhaps the purest form of filmmaking is action films’’. I don’t wish to comment on that but when you take all those action movies into context you begin to realize the concept behind Kill Bill. And you gradually start making references to different movies and characters. You would also realize that, just like 95% of those films, Kill Bill is also based on the same theme: Revenge. Take Hong Kong kung fu movies + Japanese samurai movies + spaghetti westerns and put them together in a centrifuge with Tarantino-ism and out comes Kill Bill. So what do you do if you wanna make a cracking martial arts flick? You get the best in the business: Sony Chiba from Japan, Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix), David Kennedy and so forth and combine their efforts to produce fight choreography which makes the movie stand out amongst others.
Characters I would love to talk about the characters in Kill Bill, if I could find any. On a serious note, even though each character plays an important role, the roles are quite small when compared to the total length of the film (except UT of course). Carradine doesn’t deliver more than 3 dialogues although it is evident that a big chunk of the film is gonna be dedicated to him in Volume II. Vivica Fox is as sly as a fox, and I thought she carried herself quite well.Daryl Hannah looks pretty evil, as intended. Lucy Liu looks pretty cool as usual. I think the cold yakuza samurai image suits her to the core. This is perhaps her best performance ever. UT of course is the heart of the film. She is simply brilliant. She has worked very hard for this film not only on her performance but on a physical level as well. Word is, UT trained pretty hard for three months (9 to 5) to learn basic martial arts, sword fighting etc. And every bit of it shows. Hands down, the biggest role UT has played thus far.
Finally Kill Bill is one of those films which would not appeal to everybody, especially dare I say, members of the fairer sex.(believe me I’m speaking from first hand experience). If you are looking for a meaningful, thought provoking drama Kill Bill is not for you. In fact, if anything its the other extreme. The focus is totally on action, style and attitude and not by accident, but by clear intent. There is a certain ideology followed in the film. For instance, ’’The Bride’’ won’t just go and blast away her enemies by bombs bullets and so on. Instead she takes them on one by one using their respective talents i.e. sword fighting, knives etc. Its all about guts and glory and not about story. (boy can I rhyme or what). I could describe the whole movie in 4 words.:
’’Uma Thurman kicks butt’’. For the faint-hearted I have another way of describing Kill Bill. Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood. Now multiply that by 1000 litres.You get the picture. I think Kill Bill makes for an interesting viewing and if not anything you should see it just because its not your usual day to day movie. It does bring out strange reactions from people though. As my partner in crime Yogi (any resemblance to people dead or alive is purely coincidental) says: ’’Kill Bill is a horrible, horrible movie man’’, and then after a brief pause ’’Can’t wait to see the sequel !’’