Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of VengeanceThere is a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is set in the aftermath of the jingoistic imperialism which swept Japan at the onset of the 20th century. Based on this portrayal of the state of the union in that time following the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, the government exercised authoritative control, and exploited that power to the detriment of its citizens. And Yuki, formerly "Lady Snowblood" (Meiko Kaji) finds herself poised on the edge of this cauldron of political strife ready to boil over.
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The sequel to Lady Snowblood, this film once again follows the exploits of Yuki Kashima as the feminine sword savant, and how her path crosses with a government on the verge of implosion. While the first film contained political undertones, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is distinctly more overt in its critique of the Meiji government of the era. Yuki is hunted as a wanted criminal for murder, and is beset mercilessly from the start, even as she visits the graves of her parents and her teacher, Dokai, only to emerge onto the streets where a rally for the soldiers in the war is taking place. The distinction between the "haves" and "have-nots" are made clear throughout the film, as well as the generally cynical perception of the police as mere extensions of the unfeeling government. Even as Yuki is indicted for her slayings, she is proclaimed to have killed thirty-seven people, a number mirroring those who perished in the war--three-hundred seventy-thousand--making the judgment appear hypocritical in light of the larger loss of life to satisfy mere imperialism. Yuki appears as something of an anachronism at the onset of the 20th century, a warrior of the sword who subscribes to her own form of honor, and embodies a purity of spirit muddied and all but invisible in this brave new world. As someone who does not fit in to the prescription for the new order, she is made a target, just as her would-be quarry, the so-called "anarchist" Ransui Tokunaga (Juzo Itami) is made one by the government. Although she is sentenced to hang for her crimes, she is "rescued" by the head of the government's secret police, a slithering viper of a man named Seishiro Kikui (Shin Kishida). Kikui attempts to sway Yuki to serve as his assassin of Ransui by countless means, such as stoking her pride, accusing her of ingratitude, and even the fear of going back to being hunted again; he is a manipulator through and through. In fact, Kikui has the distinction of resembling a veritable vampire, pale and aloof; his mute bodyguard even wears a crimson-lined cape. Whatever the reason, before long Yuki is infiltrating the Tokunaga household, posing as a maid--rather convincingly, even with a warm attitude--yet finds herself before long at an ethical crossroads.
Although early on, Yuki's struggle is one of mere survival and escape, it becomes clear that following a wound she suffered from a bear trap and the subsequent sword fight on the beach with the police, that she cannot sustain her fighting spirit on this alone. There is no genuine sense that she has any interest in assassinating Ransui for Kikui; but it isn't until he reveals the reason he seeks to expose the vile government that she is instilled with the same spark of meaning to once again draw her blade, not so much for a vendetta now as it is for the passion to see justice done, to be born again in the spirit of redemption and liberty. In this, Yuki transforms from mere avenger to a figure of a revolution waiting to happen, a symbol for the downtrodden which proposes--as Ransui says when he is being tortured by the police--that sometimes murder is justice. Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is a far bloodier and even gorier entry into the tale of Lady Snowblood. It is at times a grotesque display of the kind of lethal abuse of power exacted by the likes of Kikui and those like him in power, unflinching in savagery and willing to go to horrifying extremes--such as introducing a contagion into the slums as an excuse to justify burning them down. Yuki finds a kindred spirit in Shusuke Tokunaga, Ransui's estranged brother and rough-edged clinician in the slums, whom Ransui instructs her to seek out should something happen to him. Like Yuki, Shusuke feels displaced and unable to change the world around him in any meaningful way, unlike his brother who advocates for social reform. But as the stakes are raised, both Yuki and Shusuke discover what is truly important to them both: standing up for what is right, even when it means breaking the law.
Recommended for: Fans of a bloody and political-edged samurai film favoring the plot through which Yuki carves her path. Although it is a sequel to Lady Snowblood, one where only Yuki returns from the original cast, the period and tone makes the film similar to the original in spirit.
Although early on, Yuki's struggle is one of mere survival and escape, it becomes clear that following a wound she suffered from a bear trap and the subsequent sword fight on the beach with the police, that she cannot sustain her fighting spirit on this alone. There is no genuine sense that she has any interest in assassinating Ransui for Kikui; but it isn't until he reveals the reason he seeks to expose the vile government that she is instilled with the same spark of meaning to once again draw her blade, not so much for a vendetta now as it is for the passion to see justice done, to be born again in the spirit of redemption and liberty. In this, Yuki transforms from mere avenger to a figure of a revolution waiting to happen, a symbol for the downtrodden which proposes--as Ransui says when he is being tortured by the police--that sometimes murder is justice. Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance is a far bloodier and even gorier entry into the tale of Lady Snowblood. It is at times a grotesque display of the kind of lethal abuse of power exacted by the likes of Kikui and those like him in power, unflinching in savagery and willing to go to horrifying extremes--such as introducing a contagion into the slums as an excuse to justify burning them down. Yuki finds a kindred spirit in Shusuke Tokunaga, Ransui's estranged brother and rough-edged clinician in the slums, whom Ransui instructs her to seek out should something happen to him. Like Yuki, Shusuke feels displaced and unable to change the world around him in any meaningful way, unlike his brother who advocates for social reform. But as the stakes are raised, both Yuki and Shusuke discover what is truly important to them both: standing up for what is right, even when it means breaking the law.
Recommended for: Fans of a bloody and political-edged samurai film favoring the plot through which Yuki carves her path. Although it is a sequel to Lady Snowblood, one where only Yuki returns from the original cast, the period and tone makes the film similar to the original in spirit.