NYFF 2025 Review: “Scarlet” Review – A Timeless Reimagined Tale!
When a classic tale is taken and retold through a different or modern lens there is always a risk being taken. Comparisons to the original and the stripping away of what makes the original so great are just a couple. Where some find it easier to take a beloved tale and remake it, already possessing the storyboard elements and memorable character archetypes, this critic sees retellings as one of the most difficult feats to embark on because of the work already done for a filmmaker. This gives them an even more uphill battle to rise to the occasion in which the result must be almost, if not just as captivating as the original.
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Scarlet, a film that bases its story off of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, chooses to embark on a bold journey, taking on one of the most famous stories in the world. With so many iterations of Hamlet already done, Scarlet decides to take the story for its bare bones and develop an engrossing story that takes on the passage of time, the blurring of life and death, and revenge in a way that greatly differs from its original source material. In this, Scarlet is able to fly to new heights using stunning animation to take its story to a land few have ever seen.
Set in a medieval era in the 1600s, princess Scarlet (Mana Ashida) lives in a beautiful castle with her father King Amelt (Masachika Ichimura), beloved by the people they rule over for their kindness and compassion. When Scarlet’s uncle Claudius (Koji Yakusho) frames Amlet for treason and has him executed, Claudius becomes the new king marrying Scarlet’s mother Gertrude (Yuki Saito). Seeing Scarlet as a threat to his power, Claudius poisons her, causing her to descend into the land of the Otherworld.
There Scarlet discovers that the Otherworld is a place where time doesn’t exist and the living and the dead coexist. Here she meets a nurse from a future world named Hijiri (Masaki Okada). Seeking revenge for her father’s murder, Scarlet is determined to find a way to have Claudius pay for his sins.
Scarlet is a timeless tale that is told in a fantastical way by taking the basis of Hamlet in its royal murder and revenge plot and then leaving it there to create its own examination of how violence and war becomes an endless cycle that destroys every era through time. A majority of the story takes place in the otherworld in which Scarlet meets a band of familiar and unfamiliar characters that both help and harm her with every turn. The film allows Scarlet to work through her own identity and motives in a supernatural realm. Although the film implements some convention that looks at the power of love and hated, the production of the film greatly outweighs any familiar story elements.
Scarlet’s animation is nothing short of breathtaking. The immense detail and artistry that went into every shot is a testament to the years and years of work done by director and writer Mamoru Hosoda as well as the entire animation department making the impossible come to life. The film fools the mind into thinking at times we are watching live action shots because of the amount of realism implemented into the characters movement and the scenic overviews. Hosoda distinctly changes animation and directing styles when moving through present day and Otherworld sequences that emphasize the dreamlike scope of Scarlet’s journey in many realms. The film also plays with various dimensions in which characters exist in other moments in time through its nonlinear examination.
Scarlet’s greatest strength is in its ability to balance themes of love and happy endings with immense grit and violence. It displays a realistic portrayal of the world children will grow up in, never shying away from the violent and bloody portrayals of what hate and war create. Although Scarlet is not a children’s film it becomes a valuable film for young viewers to experience the beauty of its animation and anime style while capturing the ideals of hope that love and kindness can bring. Without fear and evil, understanding the true power of the love we can show one another in dire circumstances becomes a surface level concept. Scarlet allows its audience to experience princess Scarlet’s journey for all of its horror and triumphs that highlights every emotion fantastically.
After taking on the timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast in Hosoda’s film Belle and Hamlet in Scarlet, it is safe to say that Mamoru Hosoda is a master of harnessing the familiar and creating worlds and stories only imaginable through the brilliance of animation.
‘Scarlet (2025)’ Rating – 3.75/5
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