Kill Bill

As one film, Kill Bill becomes something much more than vol. 1 on its own, and something a bit less than the frightening formalist masterpiece I was expecting it to be. In many ways the arc of the film is a movement away from formalism into strangely pure emotion for a Tarantino film.

The almost ridiculous amount of formal pleasure present in the work is stunning. Sound, color, editing, and framing all contribute to create a hypnotic state in the viewer. That this pleasure was achieved through extreme cartoon violence in the first film caused (and still causes) a bit of consternation for me, but I can't deny my fascination for it. Watch for the graceful camera moves and sound in the House of Blue Leaves sequence especially. (The sound throughout is awesome.)

But is there a point somewhere in all this? Yes, probably. Something like becoming the person we need to be to raise our children, and about ending those relationships that are no good for us. That the violence becomes enclosed in smaller and smaller spaces until it is psychological in nature is no accident, the Bride's ultimate quest is to find the strength to kill someone close to her. Bill essentially dies of a broken heart.

There is a scene near the end of the film that is quite remarkable, considering the director. I kept expecting something silly to happen, but it didn't. Eventually I realized what I was seeing: Tarantino was transcending his own irony.