Directed and written by John Maclean, Tornado is a revenge western set in the British Isles in the late 18th century. The film has an epic quality, with striking visuals and a captivating soundtrack that keeps the rather simplistic plot captivating. Fujin and his daughter, Tornado, were traveling entertainers. They had a makeshift caravan and puppets to entertain the audience. Fujin was a samurai, and although the film doesn't delve into his story, it gives the impression that he led a hard life and chose the nomadic lifestyle to escape violence. Tornado was surprised that they never ventured beyond their usual income, but her father insisted on continuing to live modestly. One day, when Tornado found bags of gold, he thought it was his chance to drastically improve his life, but he was too young to consider the complications this could bring.
Fujin's puppet show centered around his daughter, Tornado. In her story, she was a brave samurai who fought her enemies with her sharp katana. Father and daughter even engaged in a brief sword fight that always captivated the audience. They put on their show as usual, only this time there was a rowdy gang of misfits led by a man named Sugarman in the audience. They were so engrossed in the puppet show that they didn't notice a boy had stolen their recent loot. Tornado had seen the boy dragging two sacks of gold into the woods. There was no way he could get there alone, so Tornado decided to take advantage of the situation.
Director: John Maclean
Writers: John Maclean, Kate Leys
Stars: Jack Lowden, Tim Roth, Rory McCann
He grabbed the sacks and the boy and hid them in the back of his trailer. By the time Sugarman and his gang realized the gold was gone, Fujin and Tornado had already left. The only witness to the theft was Sugarman's son, Little Sugar, but he decided to remain as a spectator. He had a lot to prove to his father, and he had no intention of helping him or his gang solve the mystery. After searching the area, the gang decided to follow Fujin and Tornado. By pure chance, a fallen tree blocked their path, and Fujin announced that they would have to turn around. Tornado tried to convince her father to go around the obstacle, but he didn't listen.
She couldn't explain the mess he had gotten them into, so without further delay, she stored the sacks in a shallow hole in the woods before the gang approached. Tornado had pushed the boy from his wagon as they entered the woods. He gave him a gold coin for all his efforts. Sugarman found the boy along the way, and seeing the coin he was carrying, the gang was convinced that he knew where the sacks were. The boy pointed to Tornado, claiming that she was the one who had stolen the gold. Sugarman ordered his men to thoroughly search the wagon train, and when they didn't find the gold, he fixed his gaze on Fujin.
Fujin dropped his katana to the ground and begged the gang leader to forgive him. After all, he didn't want the interaction to turn violent. But Sugarman refused to let them go. He had to teach Tornado a lesson, and killing his father was the only way he knew. He had one of his men shoot an arrow at Fujin, but before he collapsed to the ground, the samurai took his katana and inflicted a deep wound on Sugarman's body. Fujin had asked Tornado to look away, realizing his life would not be spared. When his father's body fell to the ground, Tornado fled for his life.
Tornado found it hard to understand why her father would settle for what little they had. She found his lessons in patience boring, and she craved some action in her life. She was too young to understand the repercussions of stealing bags of gold coins. She knew it was dangerous, but she also lived for the thrill. Although her father often spoke of the evils of the world, she didn't realize how bad it could get. After Fujin's death, Tornado had two options: fight or flee, and he chose the latter. Perhaps he thought it would be impossible to take out an entire gang, and he hoped they would eventually give up the chase. But that never happened.
Sugarman and his gang were relentless and refused to give up. Tornado ended up at a mansion, and when she heard the gangsters leaving, she was greatly relieved. But as luck would have it, Little Sugar found her. Instead of telling her father, she decided to keep it a secret. She ordered Tornado to stay where he was while she tried to distract him and convince him to continue the search. By the time she returned to the house, Tornado was gone. She kept running and only stopped when she came across a group of traveling performers. She knew them, and since they adored her father, they agreed to help her hide. Sugarman found her way to the traveling circus. The child who got caught up in the chaos decided to side with Tornado. He knew the risks, but he decided to be brave and informed Tornado of the threat lurking outside.
Sugarman's archer shot an arrow at the man who had allowed Tornado to hide in his trailer. They finally caught Tornado, who revealed that he had hidden the sacks of gold in a hole in the woods. Sugarman asked the boy to guide him there. Sugarman didn't realize that the artist who had been shot was still breathing, and when he ordered his men to kill Tornado, she attacked Sugarman, giving him enough time to escape. The boy accompanied her. To punish the artists, Sugarman set the place on fire. They had to endure the threat without protest. The archer shot the boy in the leg, and they dragged him back to the camp. They no longer needed Tornado, as the boy knew where the gold was. Tornado was devastated to see the burning caravans, because deep down she knew it was because of her that they had had to suffer.
Just when Tornado thought she had escaped the threat, Sugarman grabbed her and held a knife to her throat. He wanted her to lead him to the gold, perhaps because he suspected she had lied and that the only way to get to the gold was to hold her captive. He slipped and fell, but clung to Tornado, determined to find the gold before his father. Little Sugar was shocked to see his father approaching with his gang. Sugarman asked him about Kitten, one of the gang members he had sent to accompany Little Sugar during his initial search for Tornado. Little Sugar had killed Kitten because he didn't want anyone else to know he was one step ahead of his father. Sugarman was heartbroken. The one lesson he hoped his son would learn from him was to look out for the well-being of the entire gang. He didn't see Little Sugar's desperation to prove himself to him. He wanted to prove himself a capable leader and smarter than his father, but even after everything, his father saw him as a complete failure. When Little Sugar tried to attack his father, Sugarman stabbed him with his sword. During the heated argument, Tornado ran again for his life. Killing his son wasn't the easiest decision, but it was necessary. He couldn't allow his own son to plot against him, and since in his profession, killing was the only way to ensure that would never happen, he did what he had to do.
Tornado returned to the place where he had hidden the gold, but was slightly startled to see the sacks missing. He assumed Sugarman's men arrived before her. It broke his heart to see his father's lifeless body lying there. He pulled the arrow out of his body to try to make his heavenly journey a little less painful. Tornado stumbled upon the boy in the woods and took him to his trailer. He covered him with blankets; he noticed he was cold. He was alive, but his condition was critical. When Tornado mentioned that the madness was over and they could finally rest, the boy informed him that the gang hadn't found the gold. Tornado was surprised, but soon realized that his father must have moved the sacks before Sugarman and his men approached.
She realized that when her father threw his sword onto the roof of the caravan, he had indirectly asked her to get the sacks by looking up. Her assumption was correct. He had tied the sack to a tree. She climbed the tree and cut the ropes tying the sacks to the branch. By the time she returned to the caravan, the boy had passed away. The deaths took a toll on Tornado; he couldn't take it anymore. Yes, he had made the mistake of stealing sacks of gold, but did everyone around him deserve to die because of a teenager's mistake? Tornado regretted touching the sacks of gold and began to think they were cursed. Were the sacks of gold coins worth the lives of those he loved? If he could go back in time, he would never have stolen the gold. She didn't know how far men would go to satisfy their greed, and by the time he learned his lesson, he had lost everything that had ever mattered to him.
Sugarman warned his men not to touch the few gold coins Tornado had left them; he knew it was a direct insult, and he was even more determined to kill her. He burned Fujin's caravan and ordered his men to find the girl. Tornado had been waiting for them and began cutting them down, one by one. Although one of the men had a gun, his sharp katana was enough to destroy him.
In the ending of Tornado, when the main character finally found Sugarman resting under a tree, he was already on his deathbed. Remember Fujin attacking Sugarman at the beginning of the film? Well, although it took a while, the cut left Sugarman exhausted, and he lost a lot of blood. On his deathbed, Sugarman regretted not having known his son better. Deep down, he knew he was responsible for making him feel inadequate, and perhaps wished he had been a better father to him. And perhaps she also regretted bringing her son into her cruel and evil world, where betrayal was the only way forward. Sugarman died in the forest; greed killed not only him, but also his son and his gang members. Considering the damage they caused wherever they went, Sugarman knew he would one day die unceremoniously, but that didn't make him reflect on his actions. He relished the power he found in being evil and wreaking destruction.
Before Tornado left the forest, he paid his respects to his father and placed his katana on his grave. Tornado didn't know where to go or what to do. She began walking with the street performers, but she soon realized she wasn't meant to be part of any group. Her only family, her father, had passed away, and the path ahead was lonely, but she had to discover it for herself. She had to discover who she was beyond being a samurai and the vengeance that had brought her this far. She had to discover who Tornado was, and the only way to do that was completely alone. Tornado was no longer afraid; she knew she was strong enough to defeat anyone who dared to cross her path. Tornado, almost like a mythical figure, blended into the landscape. One can almost imagine the story of Tornado's heroism inspiring young girls, fearful of the evil around them, to be brave and fight back. One day, one might wonder if she ever existed, and well, that would forever be a mystery.
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