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In the recent discussion of Kill Bill, I have been surprised and disappointed by A) the number of subscribers prepared to pass judgement on the film without having seen it and B) the tendency to accuse the film of moral turpitude on the grounds of its representation of violence. Now I accept that this question of screen violence is an intractable one, and I too am frequently appalled by gratuitous brutality, but the form of certain posts uncomfortably recalled the kneejerk reactions of the right-wing popular press who assume that film audiences are too stupid to 'read' generic codes of violence. This is why the intervention from our resident 'nam vet' left a few of you with egg on your faces. I saw Kill Bill yesterday and found it to be one of the finest films I have seen all year. Certainly Tarantino's style is undiminished, but, in addition to the highly-stylised ultra-violence of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, he has also retained the long pauses and moments of reflection from the great Jackie Brown. When these modes work together, as in the terrific first sequence at Vernita's house, or the climactic duel with O-Ren Ishii, they tend to bring the spectator into an uneasy contact with the true mortal consequences of all this brutal slaying. And this makes Tarantino's appeal to the spiritual side of martial arts rather more convincing that that of other recent Hollywood products (the Matrix series, for instance). What impressed me, too, was the film's singular purpose, its utter lack of hypocrisy. The world of Kill Bill is cold, hard and merciless, and so it will remain. I had no sense of a redemptive narrative arc to the Bride's revenge killings, only a grim and inexorable cycle. And where are the cheesey one-liners to lighten the slaughter that have become standard practice in Hollywood action movies? Here, at least, is a film with the courage of its convictions. These thoughts have been hastily formulated and, doubtless, poorly expressed, but at least they represent an attempt to account for my real experience of the film and its world. Douglas Morrey Lecturer in French School of Modern Languages University of Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU Tel: +44 (0)191 2227489 * * * * *** Film-Philosophy Email Discussion Salon. After hitting 'reply' please always delete the text of the message you are replying to. If you have any questions about salon membership then email: [log in to unmask] ***