IN THE YEAR 2003, UMA THURMAN WILL KILL BILL.

Quentin Tarantino’s first movie in six years lacks the expected quality in dialogue and there isn’t much of a story. One is, however, left in awe of his creative mind – every scene is packed with ideas and influences from so many cultural sources. As The Bride (Uma Thurman), an assassin who just came out of a coma, sets out for revenge on those who nearly killed her (Bill and his four henchmen), we’re thrown into episodes that carry their own themes and colors. One of the director’s best ideas is telling O-Ren Ishii’s background story as a Japanese anime sequence. A very violent film, but Thurman is outstanding and the cliffhanger makes you yearn for more.

2003-U.S. 110 min. Color/B-W. Widescreen. Produced by Lawrence Bender. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Cinematography: Robert Richardson. Editing: Sally Menke. Cast: Uma Thurman (The Bride), Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii), Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green), Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine… Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Bo Svenson.

Trivia: One scene is so bloody it had to be shown in black-and-white. Tarantino and Thurman developed the story together; the latter was given the finished screenplay by Tarantino as a gift for her 30th birthday. Because of its length, Miramax demanded the original version to be cut into two features; this chapter was followed by Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004).

Last word: “I don’t feel the need to justify myself. Violence is a form of cinematic entertainment. Asking me about violence is like going up to Vincente Minnelli and asking him to justify his musical sequences. It’s just one of those cinematic things you can do, and it’s one of the funniest things. I love it. It’s fun.” (Tarantino, BBC)

IMDb