Tornado

Tornado begins with a young woman named Tornado fleeing from a gang of highwaymen. The leader of the gang, Sugarman, is relentless in his pursuit. Tornado stumbles upon a remote mansion and slips inside to hide. Shortly after, the gang arrives and overtakes the mansion, threatening the family that lives there as they search for her. Tornado hides in an upstairs room where the floorboards are rotting. As one of the gang members plays a piano downstairs, another explores the upper floors and falls through the decayed floor. This gives Tornado the opportunity to escape into the nearby hills.

In the wilderness, Tornado comes across a traveling circus. She hides among the performers and reconnects with a strongman who is an old friend. At this point, the story shifts into a flashback.

In the flashback, Tornado is seen as a young girl traveling with her father, Fujin. Fujin is a former swordsman who now earns a living as a puppeteer. He trains Tornado in swordplay and performance. During one show, Tornado notices a boy in the crowd picking pockets. She watches him closely but says nothing. The boy will later be revealed as an important figure in the story.

The film then returns to Sugarman and his gang, who have just pulled off a major gold heist. Among the group is Little Sugar, Sugarman’s son, who is growing increasingly uneasy about the gang’s violence and his father’s decisions. As the gang travels through the forest, they encounter the same circus where Tornado and Fujin are staying. The young pickpocket from earlier reappears and manages to steal the gang’s gold without being noticed.

Tornado sees the theft and chases the boy to her father’s wagon. The boy hides there as the circus prepares to leave. Tornado throws him out onto the road while holding onto the stolen gold. A short distance ahead, a fallen tree blocks the forest path. The highwaymen catch up to the wagon. Tornado flees into the woods to hide the gold, with the pickpocket boy following behind.

Back at the wagon, Sugarman confronts Fujin. In the fight, Fujin is killed, though he manages to stab Sugarman and wound him. Tornado escapes once more. The film returns to the present, where Tornado is recovering with the strongman in the circus. The peace is shattered when Sugarman’s gang arrives. They destroy the circus, shoot the strongman, and kill a young knife-thrower.

Tornado runs. During the chaos, Little Sugar confronts Sugarman. Disgusted by the violence and his father’s obsession with the gold, he attacks Sugarman, who stabs and kills him. The pickpocket boy is caught in the crossfire and is shot in the leg. He later dies from his injury. Tornado buries both the boy and Fujin in a quiet, wooded area.

Grief turns to fury. Tornado tracks down and kills the remaining members of Sugarman’s gang, one at a time. In the final confrontation, she finds Sugarman near death. He looks at her and, with his final words, calls her a samurai.

Afterward, Tornado returns briefly to the circus. The ringmaster proposes a new show that features her story. Tornado listens but ultimately chooses to walk away. In the final scene, she leaves the circus and disappears into the hills, sword in hand, alone once again.

Last Updated: June 17, 2025 at 08:27