'Tornado' Review: A Samurai's Daughter Faces the Winds of Change in 1790s Scotland
Wind-scoured hills and rugged moors of 18th-century Scotland become the unlikely stage for a collision of worlds in John Maclean’s evocative film Tornado. This time, the Western genre sheds its American roots and takes on a new form—blending samurai tradition with the harsh realities of the Scottish Highlands. The result is a mesmerizing tale where steel meets soul, and identity is forged in blood. 'Kôki' in Tornado. Glasgow Film Festival/Lionsgate UK Tornado, portrayed with fierce intensity by Japanese pop star-turned-actor Kōki, wrestles with her dual heritage. As the daughter of Fujin (Takehiro Hira), a stoic samurai transplanted from Japan, she rejects many of her father’s teachings. Speaking English instead of Japanese, preferring forks to chopsticks, Tornado embodies the cultural clash at the heart of the story. Yet beneath her resistance lies a profound struggle to understand the warrior legacy Fujin tries to pass on. “Know when to move and when to...