Talk of Quentin Tarantino riding off into the sunset after his eleventh and final film has given this movie goer a sleepless night or two. One can only wonder what kind of film could possibly give an appropriate sign off to such an impressive career. While Tarantino himself spoke of how his final film would be "Epilogue-y", it remains difficult to determine if he looks for continuation from previous films, or one final, fresh and original offering that will blow all of our minds.
Tarantino did discuss the possibility of returning to his famous Kill Bill series, expressing excitement as to the possibility of casting leading lady Uma Thurman's daughter, Maya Hawk, in the role of B.B. Kiddo. Along with Hawk's possible inclusion, I spoke in a previous post to the possibility of approaching other loose ends from the second film as a springboard into an exciting concluding story. I did, however, skip over a very intriguing potential story that could be a decent book end to a film maker's career, and its one which I wish to pitch here, a spin-off film focusing on the life of The White Lotus, Pai Mei.
A Greeting Not Returned
Pai Mei was introduced in Kill Bill Vol. 2 as an old and cranky Kung Fu master who had trained Bill.He was played by Gordon Liu, the same actor who had taken up the role of the general of the Crazy 88s, Johnny Mo, in the first film. As Pai Mei, he would agree to train Beatrix Kiddo and famously go on to teach her all of his secrets. Before their meeting, however, was a legendary story about The White Lotus told at the dead of night, around a crackling fire to the soothing sound of a long flute. This is where the film could begin.
Bill would go on to tell "The Bride" about a famous massacre that had happened at the hands of Pai Mei due to a simple and subtle greeting that was not returned. It would also be the first time that Beatrix Kiddo would hear about the famous exploding heart technique that Pai Mei would use on the monks of the monastery. Given his love for a good massacre, this scene could really set the stage for an engrossing film told in four parts.
Part 2:The Eagle and the Snake Charmer
The second chapter could revolve around Bill's time spent with the old master. It could be interesting to see the kind of relationship the two had and the type of training that Bill would have to go through to become stronger. This section of the film could show how Bill would come to meet him in the first place, the kind of rapport, if any, that they would develop, and how Bill would go on to apply the training when all was said and done.
Part 3: The Last Student
Beatrix Kiddo would not be the only student of the legendary master, as Bill would also send another member of his elite assassin squad, Elle Driver, to gain some of the ancient wisdom. Driver would lack the resilience and respect that Kiddo would eventually impress her master with, her clear defiance leading to her eye being plucked out of her skull.
In anger, Elle would get the final laugh after poisoning the old man's food, an act of vengeance she would boast about in her confrontation with Kiddo in the second film. This chapter could be interesting and further fleshed out, showing viewers first impressions between Pai Mei and Driver, the training he would subject her to, the events leading to the loss of her eye, and the poisoning and subsequent aftermath.
Final Chapter: Laid To Rest
While Beatrix would get her revenge for both herself and Pai Mei by plucking out the one remaining eye that Elle Driver had, she wouldn't deal out a killing blow, feeling that it was more satisfying to leave Driver to writhe in pain as she walked off to find Bill. This would mean that a final confrontation between these to enemies could be just the conclusion to close off a new Kill Bill film, or this proposed spin-off.
It would be interesting to see the journey of Driver turning her loss into new found strength, a blind warrior matching her physical impediment with the blinding effect that the thirst for revenge brings. The last resting place of Pai Mei could be the perfect stage for an old rivalry to finally be put to bed, but it could also mean the passing of the torch from master to student.
The final moments of the film could have Beatrix subjecting her daughter to the same grueling training that she once had to endure herself, the end credits punctuated with the bone shattering sound of a fist hitting wood. The continuous thud, coupled with the grunts of pain and frustration of B.B. Kiddo learning the one inch punch, a sound complimenting the slow focusing of two headstones, one for Bill and one for Pai Mei.
Reasons For A Spin-off
It's no secret that East Asian cinema has acted as a big inspiration for Tarantino, and this is particularly evident in his Kill Bill series. Lucy Lu's character in the first film, O-Ren Ishii, has similarities to the lead in a classic Japanese film called Lady Snowblood, while the actress who played the role of Gogo Yubari was plucked right from one of the film makers favorite Japanese titles, Battle Royale. Even Pai Mei himself is not an original character of Tarantino's making, but is one that has appeared in several classic martial arts films in the past.
A spin-off seems to be the kind of unpredictable left turn of a film that would be indicative of Tarantino's creative talents, and his love of the classics and their techniques gives mouth watering possibilities to the first chapter of the film that would strictly focus on Pai Mei's earlier years. The monastery massacre would also be the kind of scene that would be right up Tarantino's alley.
The opportunity to see Bill during his formative years also strikes with a certain intrigue that is hard to deny, and the final confrontation between two former pupils would also be deeply satisfying.
Reasons Against A Spin-off
In many ways, a spin-off of any kind would feel almost superfluous. If a film is going to have the involvement of Uma Thurman in any capacity, then one can't help but feel that Tarantino ought to just make a Kill Bill Vol.3. Even intuitively speaking, a Pai Mei film just doesn't strike one as good enough for a final offering on the part of Tarantino.
However, in the same way that the Machete film took on a life of its own after its cameo in the collaborative effort with Robert Rodriguez, a Pai Mei film could still very much be a film to be brought to life by a different film makers hand, but whether it would hit as hard without Tarantino's magic touch would remain to be seen.