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Mamoru Hosoda has a well-known fondness for time-travel narratives. The storyteller responsible for beloved films like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Mirai, and Belle constructs fantastical epics where protagonists journey through both time and parallel dimensions. His newest cinematic offering, Scarlet, fits neatly no different.

A Warrior's Journey

Coming to U.S. theaters soon, this bold reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet centers on Princess Scarlet, a defeated warrior sent to a purgatorial “Otherworld” because she could not to retaliate against her father’s murder by her uncle, Claudius. With the help of Hijiri, a paramedic from present-day Japan whose empathy challenges her rage, Scarlet journeys across dreamlike battlefields, confronting ghostly soldiers, cyclical enmity, and the allure of the “Void” as she searches for forgiveness and a route home.

“The geopolitical situation following the coronavirus” and “the idea that people can’t forgive these days” are issues that “bring a lot of worry,” Hosoda has stated.

Needless to say, Hosoda makes significant changes to adapt this Elizabethan story distinctive. Yet what distinguishes Scarlet is how the director fuses his usual template with this classic revenge tale to champion global harmony.

Mercy in an Fractured Age

Embodied by Scarlet, Hosoda explores a inability to pardon, although in her circumstances, those emotions seem understandable. When Scarlet ultimately confronts Claudius, she must choose between holding onto her anger or embarking on a life without revenge.

Many people continue to struggle from the disruption of the coronavirus era, and its aftermath has created a planet deeply divided. It’s no surprise that those who came of age during the pandemic, who grew up during lockdowns, has become increasingly distrustful. Hosoda states that Scarlet is “a positive message to the younger generation,” pointing out that the way Hamlet depicts the never-ending loop of revenge is “still relevant today.”

A King's Final Plea

Yet, the major change between Scarlet and the play that inspired it lies in the message each protagonist's father tells them. In Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet urges his son to exact retribution, while the dying wish of the king in Scarlet are a heartfelt appeal for his daughter to forgive.

“It’s a confusing directive because after everything inflicted upon her family,” Hosoda observes. “She wonders how it can be so easy to forgive. The question posed to Scarlet is how to deal with the energy, how to forgive. There are many parallels to our current geo-political landscape, and I wanted that represented in the screenplay.”

Whereas Shakespeare’s play chronicles its protagonist's psychological unraveling, Hosoda sought to offer a hopeful journey. Hosoda highlights direct connections between Scarlet and today’s youth — their raw idealism, their deep-seated resentment, their difficulty to find understanding in a fractured world.

A Relevant Fairy Tale

A lot of today's entertainment leans into anxiety, but Scarlet pierces that gloom with fairytale beauty and a exceptional spark of hope. It flirts with camp, but its core idea resonates deeply: a refreshed classic with something timely and truthful to say.

Ultimately, a shared yearning among people to resolve our conflicts “because of the cost of war.” By way of the odyssey of Princess Scarlet, Hosoda offers not a easy fix, but a dream of a path forward founded upon forgiveness instead of ceaseless conflict.