‘Scarlet’ Tells a Classical Revenge Story — Just Don’t Call It a Shakespeare Adaptation

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. [Editor’s Note: The following story contains minor spoilers for “ Scarlet.” ] Watching the opening minutes of “Scarlet,” you might get the impression you’re in for a very unconventional telling of literature’s quintessential tragedy. The titular character of the anime film is the princess of medieval Denmark, who goes on a quest for vengeance against the scheming Claudius after he murders her father and takes the throne of the nation. Essentially, it’s a gender-bent telling of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” at a time when the play is simply so hot right now . But that’s only the first few minutes: quickly, Scarlet dies and finds herself plunged into a dangerous, purgatorial world between life and heaven, the past and the future, and with Hijiri, a nurse from modern times, embarks on a journey to avenge her father that eventually leads her to question whether the entire cycle of revenge is even worth it. “Scarlet” comes from director Mamoru Hosoda , a director famous for his films that often tackle themes of technology and connection, from his early work on the “Digimon” franchise to “Summer Wars.” In his latest output, he’s looked more towards old classics to illuminate the themes he’s been preoccupied with; “Belle,” his last film, was a loose retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set in a virtual world, exploring themes of disconnection and vulnerability in the digital age. For “Scarlet,” made by his company Studio Chizu, Hosoda became fascinated by the topic of revenge, and sought inspiration from the most famous revenge tale in English literature to inform it. “I think one of the amazing things about classic literature is that it gives the audience the opportunity to see what has changed and everything that’s stayed the same over time,” Hosoda told IndieWire in an interview. “There’s a lot of shifting ideas that are relevant; some are still relevant as they were hundreds of years ago. Looking at the parent piece helps as a window to explore the things I wanted to.” Ahead of the film’s IMAX release, IndieWire spoke to Hosoda about his take on the Shakespearean tale, the unique hyperrealistic style that brings the film’s purgatory to life, and the movie’s gender-flipped love story. Editor’s note: this interview has been edited and condensed for clarity, and was conducted with the help of a Japanese translator. IndieWire: Most of your movies are set in the future, from “Digimon” to “Belle,” but “Scarlet” begins instead in the past. Why were you interested in that setting? Hosoda: I’m very curious about human history. I wanted to explore how humans thought. I think there were a lot of great thinkers, and I dare say that people were smarter then, happier back then, than...

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