Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

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matthew d All together magical and different from the first! Director Toshiya Fujita's Japanese revenge thriller Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) is not quite the masterpiece of filmmaking that Lady Snowblood (1973) remains, but it does have a lot to offer. Fujita grips you from the beginning with Lady Snowblood cleaving men piece by bloody piece down a mountain path all the way to the water in a thrilling opening sequence. Yukio Higuchi's art direction captures open air wind blowing, water flowing like blood, and quiet homes in moments of peace. Kenjiro Hirose's score is captivating with a unique and diverse sound that goes across genres. Each scene sounds totally different from the last, giving Lady Snowblood 2 a refreshing atmosphere. Meiko Kaji is lovely as Lady Snowblood herself with impressive, fluid swordplay. Her every sword swing looks fast, accurate, and deadly. She's one of cinema's coolest characters because of Kaji's effortless action choreography, convincing you that she's really the peerless female assassin Lady Snowblood. Meiko Kaji is simply a divine screen presence. Kaji's dramatic skills as an actress are wonderful too with an endearing performance as Yuki Kashima the woman behind the Lady Snowblood moniker, who longs to sheath her sword permanently and desires the love of a good man she meets. I adored Meiko Kaji as Lady Snowblood both thrusting her umbrella sword into every foe she encountered as well as the gorgeous woman exhausted by a lifetime of killing. Meiko Kaji is why you're watching Lady Snowblood 2 for her subtle acting with intense stares, sorrowful tears, and masterful swordplay. Juzo Itami is interesting as anarchy leader and philosopher Ransui Tokunaga with his dedication to his cause and compelling speeches. His torture sequence is brutal to watch, especially with the barbaric police injecting him with the plague in a nightmarish scene. Yoshio Harada is amazing as the nice doctor who aids Lady Snowblood as well as her admirable partner in crime Shusuke Tokunaga. You believe Kazuko Yoshiyuki's pain as Aya Tokunaga seeing her husband suffering unbelievable cruelty. Shin Kishida is great as the evil mastermind and secret police leader Seishiro Kikui. I think my favorite visual was Lady Snowblood desperately slashing away with her hidden umbrella katana sword during the beautiful beach battle. Her graceful sword swings against a blue sky and endless ocean is a breathtaking sight. Tatsuo Suzuki's cinematography has never looked nicer in stunning natural wide shots or piercing close-ups of Lady Snowblood's chilling glares. I could look at her umbrella katana cutting gashes of blood out of men all day. Every sword strike feels like it's lethal with bursts of blood to entertain you with each cut. Fujita's direction is incredibly thoughtful and gorgeous. The secret police headquarters fight into the final combat sequence are thrilling and delightfully over the top to reward your viewing the dramatic centerpiece of the film. I loved Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance for different reasons, but they are similarly remarkable Japanese action thrillers. Osamu Inoue's editing is pretty quick throughout, giving Lady Snowblood 2 a quick 89 minute length. The drama plays out naturally, so you really feel like you know each character and their very specific political or personal motivations by the end. Writers Kazuo Kamimura, Kazuo Koike, Norio Osada, and Kiyohide Ohara create a stark depiction of the end of The Meiji Era in Japan. Tensions are high, anarchist terrorism is brewing, the police arrest and torture civilians, and assassinations are common. The middle section of the film sets up all the intrigue and political drama with political commentary about post-war Japan after their victory against Russia in the impoverished slums as anarchy rises among the poor against the abusive government secret police. Honestly, It's a neat and separate story compared to the personal revenge story from the first film. Lady Snowblood witnesses government atrocities as they burn an entire community to death, including her love interest of sorts in the form of a kind yet jaded anarchist doctor. Once she takes up the sword again, the blood flows with satisfying violence. There's tons of violence and brutality throughout, but I think we could all use even more visceral sword duels involving Lady Snowblood. In short, Lady Snowblood 2 is both a thrilling action picture as well as an intriguing political drama full of fearless swordplay and intelligent commentary. All that drama is thankfully surrounded by four brutal sword fights in the start and at the end. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Slow burn compared to the first one but still enjoyable. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Decent follow-up. It's not as dynamic or have the visual flair of the original, but there's still some cool action. The plot doesn't seem to serve the character well though, as she seems out of place and it seems like an implausible turn for her to make the decisions she does. It's cool to see her further adventures. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/19 Full Review Audience Member I am a huge fan of Lady Snowblood and was very excited to see it's sequel. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. I think the plot in theory is a good idea, but it was executed in a very confusing way. Lady Snowblood, a cold-blooded master assassin who is arrested for her crimes, is given her conditional freedom by a secret government agency so long as she kills a popular anarchist. I don't understand how you can mess up a plot that interesting. Additionally, the use of color and the artistic imagery of the first movie were noticeably absent. I suppose this movie is a good example of why a sequel is not always a good idea. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member A rather mediocre continuation of the saga, which must have read much better as a script than it plays as a film. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member good sequel another lost review Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

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