Tornado - Transnational Action
Written by Dr. Zoe Crombie
Two loners face each other from a distance in a desolate landscape. Suddenly, a flash of movement – one drops dead, and the other stays standing. This scenario can just as easily bring to mind an East Asian swordplay flick as it can a Western, and many filmmakers, from Akira Kurosawa to Sergio Leone, have made ample use of this fact. The latest in this line is director John Maclean, who takes the combination a step further by bringing UK soil into the mix.
Blending the worlds of 18th century Scotland and Edo period Japan as well as the Western genre tradition, Tornado stars Japanese star Kōki as the titular hero, a dancer and puppeteer raised by a samurai father fending for themselves in an unfamiliar landscape. Her act depicts violent showdowns that resemble Kurosawa classics like Sanjuro, but this soon becomes Tornado’s reality when she comes up against a clan of bandits, led by a menacing Tim Roth as the relentless Sugarman.
Mixing the Western genre with martial arts in a way reminiscent of John Woo movies, Tornado is a dark revenge movie that will scratch the itch of any samurai movie fan, with Maclean’s unique approach to action movie storytelling front and centre.
Be blown away by Tornado between Tuesday 8th & Thursday 10th July.
