Even with a handful of shortcomings, I have to give Tornado points for showing me something I’ve never seen before.
Set in the desolate landscape of 1790s Britain, the film tells the story of a Japanese father-and-daughter traveling puppet troupe who specialize in somewhat violent marionette shows about samurai in heated battles, with heads and arms flying off and blood squirting from open wounds. Unfortunately, the pair cross paths with a ruthless band of criminals, led by a particularly nasty guy named Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his even less reputable son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden).
The Sugarman gang accuse the father (Takehiro Hira) and daughter Tornado (Koki) of stealing their gold (gold actually stolen in a recent heist), and before the pair even have a chance to deny the accusation, the gang kills the father, leaving Tornado alive and eager to seek revenge using the sword skills taught to her by her father, who just happened to be a former Shogun. But while she’s doing that, she must also escape getting killed by Sugarman and his men, including Rory McCann’s Kitten. She seeks refuge in a nearby tent city set up by another group of traveling performers, which includes Joanne Whalley as their matriarchal figure.
Written and directed by John Maclean (his second feature after the terrific Slow West), Tornado is a smart, slow burn of a movie that puts character development and thoughtful storytelling ahead of its bloody action sequences—which is not to say there aren’t a few of those thrown in for good fun. Tornado finds a way to beat the gang at their own vicious game and separates their numbers, making it easier to pick them off one by one. I love the idea of these vastly different cultures meeting in the middle, trying to understand how the other thinks and duking it out as violently as possible.
Tornado is entertaining, for sure, but it also feels lived in and authentic while telling a story that could only play out in this specific time and place.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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