Among the Japanese CULT movies in the 1970s, "Sura Xue Ji" is undoubtedly a relatively special one. It is adapted from the manga of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Uemura. It has been innovated and improved on the basis of the dwindling sword and halberd films. The dramatic structure of the split-act and the narration accompanied by the sonorous syllables of Shamisen have some points. The charm of traditional joruri... But the most important point is that the protagonist of this film is a young woman with a sharp blade. At the beginning, she explained her identity - "Sura Xue Ji" who is an "Avenger".
"Vengeance" is one of the common motifs of Japanese movies, and it often has a strong background of the times. There are not only the well-known "Genlu Chuanzang", but also the group portraits of loyal samurai warriors, and there are also "Sai Zi Xiong Lang" (also a work by Kazuo Koike). ) This kind of ronin swordsman who walks the rivers and lakes. However, the plot of "Xura Xue Ji" has subverted the audience's traditional perception of the male identity of "Avengers". At the beginning of the movie, after the long night, the white snow, the cracked umbrellas, and the victory with one move, after a few minutes of action scenes, the role of "Xu Luo Xue Ji" has naturally been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
If it follows the original comics faithfully, the film will probably enter the "Pinky Violence" camp of the same period, and become a soft porn film like "Pig Deer Butterfly" (1973), which is popular with most male audiences. However, the script of "Xura Xue Ji" abandoned the seductive plot in the comics, and instead created an image of a female killer who relies entirely on superb swordsmanship to "front bar", which must be said to be a conceptual improvement.
However, at the same time, the female character of the character "Snow" has also disappeared. Although on the outside, she is still endowed with a beautiful appearance and an elegant figure, but this is an empty signifier - she does not have any female consciousness in her heart, in other words, "Snow" is a machine whose gender has been erased. Revenge machine.
In fact, "Xue"'s gender castration was doomed from the moment she was born. Her mother, Kashima Xiaoye, was an innocent victim of the "Blood Tax" riot in the sixth year of Meiji. She suffered the pain of bereavement of her husband and her child mentally; physically, she suffered cruel humiliation and long imprisonment. If Xiaoye is regarded as a victim of turbulent society and patriarchal politics, then the daughter she gave birth to after untold hardships should be the light of hope for "new women". But Xiaoye's wish is to "want a boy with a strong body", because in her cognition, only male heirs can take on the responsibility of "Avengers".
Without the wish to give birth to a boy, Xiaoye's soul could not rest in peace, and her resentment was pinned on her daughter in the form of "reincarnation". As the heroine herself said: "I remember, from the moment I was born, I remember everything I have experienced. Every frame of the picture is still clearly in front of me. That's why, my mother's The great cause of revenge is also my own - this revenge plan is my own."
If you compare "Sura Snow Princess" with "Hamlet", you will find that the core of the two stories is the same, but the characters are changed from "father and son" to "mother and daughter". The image for this confession is not the narrator's snow, but at the beginning of the film, a red-clothed, dying night. The image of the mother-daughter is like a Mobius ring, and "hate" is the only way, the cycle is repeated, and there is no way to get rid of it.
In contrast to the strong resentment of the "mother", there are several "father" figures in the film - either weak and incompetent, or impersonal, or cowardly and despicable, or evil and cunning. The female resistance consciousness of "Xura Xue Ji" is based on the loss and loss of patriarchy, which adds a potential image of "father-killing" to the film.
First of all, let's take a look at Yuki's (nominal) father, Takeka Kashima, an elementary school teacher in the countryside who had blood splattered shortly after his appearance. The image of this character is westernized, new and progressive, but he died tragically at the hands of a mob. Combined with the rumors of "men in white", it seems to imply that the Japanese civilians during the Meiji period had a disgust for Western civilization. even resistance.
Kashima Gang is the victim of the turning point of the times, he is unable to protect himself, let alone his wife and children. In terms of identity, he is Xue's father, but he has no blood relationship with this child - Xue is the seed that Xiaoye hunted for revenge, constantly committing adultery with men, and only came to the world after a difficult childbirth. This indicates from another level that "Xura Xue Ji" is a product of troubled times, a flower struggling to grow from the flesh and blood of the fault of the times. Because her biological father is unknown, her revenge has social significance, representing "those who suffer".
In Snow's Girls' Generation, Daohai, a reclusive monk minister, reluctantly fills in the absence of "father" as a "master". Daohai is committed to erasing Xue's gender characteristics, and is also the one who directly shaped "Sura Xue Ji". Xue's feelings for Daohai are obedience, awe and trust. This is the subordination of a "daughter" to a "father" in the traditional sense, but it lacks the tender care of "love" and "dependence". Therefore, Xue grows up The process is still incomplete.
Under Dao Hai's strict training, young Xue was forced to abandon her emotions, and was always instilled with the creed that "revenge is the only mission". In a night of duel practice, the girl was naked and her eyes were sharp and fierce, like a bloodthirsty beast. At this point, she completely abandoned her gender and became an "inhuman" existence. It also has some similarities with the setting of the life or death of the resentful daughter (such as the six concubines in "The Tale of Genji" and Ayan in "Yotani Strange Story") common in Japanese literature.
Snow's way of revenge is superb swordsmanship, which actually has a strong male symbol - the sword is a phallic worship, full of "attack" and "insertion" references. This may prove that when women challenge patriarchy, once they resort to violence, they will inevitably fall into the shackles of masculinity. This potential contradiction raises a question: how should oppressed women Resist effectively?
As the villain's "father" image, it is represented by Takemura Hanzo and Tsukamoto Yoshiro. The former is a drunken, gambler, and down-to-earth, symbolizing the lower classes of the old era; the latter is a ruthless arms dealer, alluding to the rise of militarism. The fate of the two characters is bound to end in destruction. But their sons and daughters had an intersection with Xue, which led the story to an unexpected but reasonable ending.
In the first half of the film, Snow's revenge goes fairly smoothly, encountering few obstacles. However, when she met Takemura Hanzo's daughter Kunbu-e on the edge of a cliff, she felt a little compassion for this kind and innocent girl. In the subconscious, Xue of course knew that after this girl learned the truth, she was bound to become her enemy. Even so, not only did she not take precautions before it happened, but she made arrangements for the future life of Kunbu-e after killing the enemy. From here, Xue's ruthless heart has undergone subtle changes.
The gentle and submissive kombu painting is both a victim of the patriarchal system and a staunch defender of the patriarchy. In the eyes of others, Hanzo Takemura, who is despicable and despicable, is an irreplaceable and supreme existence in his daughter's heart. He is the spiritual dependence of Kunbu-e, and he is also the cage that binds Kunbu-e. If Xue's revenge is an act of "father-killing", then kombu-e is the "punisher" - she represents the moral values of the old times and punishes Xue's resistance.
Ashio Ryu Ling is a complete rebel. He was reluctant to rely on his rich and powerful father, and after running away from home, he founded a tabloid, dedicated to fighting for his own right to speak. In terms of spirituality, Xue and Longling are in the same situation, which is why Xue will tolerate Longling putting his revenge story into writing. Although the novel was published in the newspaper, it successfully led out Kitahama Okino, one of the enemies, but at the same time, the snow hidden in the dark was also exposed to the public's sight, and involuntarily embarked on a road of no return .
The encounter with Ryuling Ashio can be regarded as a turning point in the fate of Snow. Just as Longling was drawn to the unusual Xue, Xue also took an interest in the cynical tabloid writer. At the same time, the female consciousness that was buried in Xue's heart and never disappeared gradually emerged. A notable change is that when Xue saw the little girls playing, she was "involuntarily moved by the singing". When the killing angel begins to yearn for the warmth of the world, it means the return of female emotions-for an avenger, this is undoubtedly a dangerous signal, but Xue himself is unaware of it.
In traditional sword and halberd films, the influence of mentality on swordsmanship is huge, and Xue was injured for the first time in the indoor brawl in the "Huayue Bureau", which seems to prove that she, who returned to her female identity unknowingly, is no longer a woman. A powerful and hard "inhuman", but just an ordinary soft body that bleeds and hurts.
After the "Huayue Bureau" fight ended, Xue and Longling had a rivalry on a boat in the lake. The dialogue between the two was treated as a voice-over, symbolizing an open heart exchange. Here is a detail worth pondering: Snow sucks the wound for Longling. This should be her first physical close contact with a man, and she did not resist Longling's sudden embrace. So far, she has acquiesced in her position as a woman and accepted Longling's love.
So far, with the entry of a man, the Mobius ring is broken, and this is the beginning of a tragic love. The "mother of revenge" parasitic in Xue's subconscious will never give up her place easily.
Although the film does not point out whether Xue and Longling have had a physical relationship (Xue even wears bhikuni attire when going out), the fact that the two live together further incorporates Xue into the "worldly" framework, which not only weakens the The strong personality of this role also made her adapt to the ordinary and comfortable daily life unconsciously. Because of this, when she heard that the last enemy was not only not dead, but turned out to be the father of her lover, her surprise was beyond words - Xue took a step back, the camera fell on her face, and then quickly zoomed away, showing an encounter that hit the head. And dumbfounded image.
In this scene, Longling tore up the unfinished "Xura Xue Ji", saying "I won't write it again". It's an ominous omen, as the writer becomes unsustainable and the character dies. Xue and Longling looked at each other, and all the memories of the past flashed back—the dazzling fast cuts, the snow falling outside the cell, the blood-stained sea water, the corpse that was cut in two, the flowers that fell in front of the tombstone—all of them were Imagery associated with death. We can already predict how the fourth act will end.
The prom killing that followed was a gorgeous and tragic ending. Xue did not embark on the journey of revenge alone as before, but with the assistance of Longling. At this moment, the film returns to the theme scene of "Dark Night with White Snow". Amidst the fluttering snowflakes, Xue and Longling looked at each other in silence.
In the final decisive battle, Xue's sharp sword penetrated Longling's body and inserted into Tsukamoto Yoshihiro's chest. The victory of "revenge" was built on the destruction of "love". But Xue's inner pain was obviously more deadly than a gunshot wound.
She is a woman who has regained her feelings. When the goddess of nemesis is no longer cold, "Sura Xueji" will lose the meaning of existence. The image of the ruthless saint (virgin) will surely collapse.
The seriously injured heroine walked alone in the snow in despair, while the hatred Kunbu-e dashed with a sharp blade. At this moment, the snow is no longer an "avenger", but has become the object of revenge for Kunbu-e. At this time, the "karma" commonly used in Japanese pole films, and the "blood debt and blood repayment" that Xue had shouted before, formed a perfect end-to-end echo.
When Kunbu-e stabbed the dagger into Xue's body, the eyes of the two women crossed each other. At this moment, Xue understood Kun-bu-e and suddenly realized the cycle of his life; Covering his face and crying, he fled in a hurry. The singing of "Asura no Flowers" sounded mournfully again, but this time, it stopped abruptly when "My tears have dried up". The crucial phrase "I have long forgotten that I am a woman" does not appear again.
The hot blood melted the icy white snow, and the snow returned to the dying moment of her mother Xiaoye, with a heart-piercing cry - this is the cry of a woman, it is the original strength, it is the struggle in aphasia, and it also penetrates the vast darkness. Yes, hope in despair.
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