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What is Kill Bill: Volume 1 about? It is a story of revenge, which Tarantino has staged narrating the events through a few chapters and flashbacks that explain, in detail, the dynamics of the events portrayed even if not in chronological order. Uma Thurman, whose character’s name of the film is covered by a “beep”, is the world’s most deadly woman, known as “Black Mamba”. She got in trouble for trying to leave her profession as a serial killer and her “employer”, father of her daughter. The “employer”, named Bill, found “Black Mamba” in an undisclosed location and ready to celebrate her marriage with Tommy. Bill and his team of killers kill everyone at the small ceremony, and Bill himself shots “Black Mamba” in the head. The woman falls in a four -ear long coma, and upon awakening from it, runs away from the hospital after cleaning up what I would like to refer to as a “mess”, without giving you too much information. She takes full control of her body, which was partly temporarily paralysed, and starts her hunt to Bill and the responsible of the massacre.

The clashes with the sword and the oriental philosophy aftertaste, that is inherent in martial arts, lingers in all the fight scenes. The morals and philosophy typical of the martial arts often recur during the killing and splatter scenes, where opponents still give respect and the integrity of them seems solemn. However, to think that a single woman, for as well trained and able with her exclusive Hattori Hanzo’s samurai, can keep up to 88 guards of the Yakuza and beat all of them. Of course, this is utterly illogical and unrealistic, but this is what makes the movie so entertaining despite its raw violence. This particular battle is a musical about violence, if you will, in which the dancers are fighting with katanas and the music is composed of the laments of the vanquished. One on one battles are also incredibly engaging and entertaining, and just as a dance, every movement of the fighters is planned and staged with incredible attention to detail. The pathways that the cameras follow and their angle make the view of these battles 3600 experience.  Film culture, entertainment and the colossal effort of the editors and producers have made the bloody clashes of this movie very different from those seen in classic Bruce Lee’s movies, and have made this one Tarantino’s most iconic and well-known movies.

The concluding scene with the duel in the snowy Japanese garden, with the water in the washhouse that marks the time, seems like an extraordinary ritual with a silent elegance, inspired b movies such as Year of the Dragon. It is a beautiful clash, in which the peace and the silence of the garden is broken by the sound of katanas and the voices of the fighters, and the pure white atmosphere stained by the blood of “Black Mamba” and her nemesis.

It could be said that perhaps Tarantino’s talent should be dedicated to more meaningful and significant movies, but quite honestly, this is what he does best. Not every filmmaker is able to mix a variety of genres and not many at all can make such crude and cruel violence so entertaining, due to its evident unreal and burlesque nature. Kill Bill: Volume 1 and its sequel, which I will review in my next articles, can be merely considered as a splatter, action or comedy movie. However, deep under the layer amputated bodies, blood, swords, the parody and the violence Tarantino has actually tried communicate a message to the viewer, which will only be comprehensible when the story of “Black Mamba” comes to an end with “Kill Bill: Volume 2”.

Image credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_Bill:_Volume_1#/media/File:Kill_bill_vol_one_ver.jpg