Gokudô sengokushi: Fudô

'Fudoh' shows was based on a manga and it shows. The aesthetic of violence sprinkled with zany moments and some very otaku specific weird elements make that very clear. But it is still a self sufficient movie and a very unique one at that. It launched Miike as an extravagant director of great caliber.

The cult appeal assures it something a niche place in exploitation and revenge cinema. Plot-wise 'Fudoh' is about the relentless pursuit of vengeance that justifies the buckets of blood, the child assassins, the vagina darts (it makes sense, even) and other diverse methods of killing. But it is also a story of personal charisma and a family drama. Miike's dark humor makes a few striking appearances such as when a half Korean character goes into a fit over kimchi prepared in Japanese style.

The full title points to a generational conflict and indeed 'Fudoh' is something of a rebellion against adults and their degenerate ways, a topic that manga/anime often insist on. But there is no bright eyed youthful idealism here. Riki and his companions are fully conscious that to carry out their plans they need leave a trail of blood on their wake. The hyper violence for which Miike is so well known is already fully articulated in this movie and it reaches levels of stylistic prowess in a few sequences, namely the shoot out at the beginning.

Above all 'Fudoh' is entertaining. Fans of extreme cinema cannot fail to appreciate it and in hindsight it is very curious given the predominance that Miike achieved with his career. As a movie that points to later developments it has a redoubled interest.

Director Takashi Miike ("Audition", "Dead or Alive I+II") created a dark vengeance-story that deals with a young guy named Riki Fudoh who takes bitter revenge on the Yakuza for killing his brother. Together with some classmates he starts a merciless crusade against the organized crime... However, without being too sensitive, so faint-hearted persons should stay away from the gross scenes of murder! Acid drinks, beheadings and little kids as contract killers... no doubt, "Fudoh" is bloody entertainment in perfection! It is something like teenagers on a killing spree, but fortunately far beyond political correctness and typical Hollywood-clichés - or could anyone imagine Denise Richards using vaginal firearms?!? (A delicious imagination, by the way...)... Miike´s film ran very successfully at various festivals like in Rotterdam/Netherlands, Toronto/Canada or in Germany. It was a No.1 box-office blockbuster in its home country Japan and everyone who likes violent Asian action movies should give it a fair chance! Recommended!

Fudoh - The New Generation has the Reputation to be one of the best Takashi Miike Films, he is very Hit and Miss with his Films. However Fudoh has a Violent and Action packed Start, some really crazy and bizarre Ideas, but after the Stylish Action Packed Start the Film turn down the pacing a bit ,would this Film have a bit more Action It would be a much more great Cult Film. Lets talk about the characters which a really Interesting with the Fudoh Family and the Second Villain Daigen Nohma played by Riki Takeuchi he is one of the Best Things about this Film even though he has only around 10 Minutes Screentime. He steals every Scene in this Film and has a Big Charisma and badassness , I wonder why Riki Takeuchi was never more of a Big Deal he would be perfect in a Tarantino Film.

Fudoh - The New Generation is surely one of the Best Miike Films (along with Audition, Ichii-The Killer and Lesson of the evil) a stylish well filmed Yakuza-Action-Thriller with some Violence and Gore.

For the most part Takeshi Miike's movies have been getting weirder and weirder, so if you've already experienced the likes of 'Ichi The Killer' and 'Visitor Q' his earlier movies (e.g. 'Rainy Dog') might seem a bit tame and too "normal". Not so 'Fudoh: The New Generation'! Eight years old, which is a lifetime in Miike's world (60 movies since 1991!), it's still as outrageous as ever. This was the movie that started Miike's reputation as being one of the most wildest and inventive directors in the world. The bare bones of the plot makes it sound like countless other yakuza movies, but Miike continually shocks and subverts his audience. This is one movie you just have to see to believe! Shosuke Tanihara plays Riki Fudoh, teenage son of crime boss Iwao Fudoh (Tôru Minegishi). Fudoh senior sacrificed Riki's older brother Ryu when Riki was a child. Now that Riki is older he plans an audacious plan of revenge, using his own gang of child assassins and sexy schoolgirls, one of whom dispatches her victims via a blow gun she fires from her vagina. 'Fudoh' will have you giggling insanely throughout. Just how does Miike get away with it?! It's also one of the most entertaining and exciting action movies I've ever seen, up there with Miller's 'Mad Max 2', Hill's 'The Driver', Peckinpah's 'The Getaway', Rodriguez's 'El Mariachi' and Ishii's 'The Black Angel'. Most Hollywood action movies these days send me to sleep. I tried watching 'The Fast And The Furious' the other night for example and gave up after becoming bored to tears. Tarantino's mind blowing 'Kill Bill: Vol 1' is the one recent notable exception. Is it any wonder that it was heavily inspired by asian cinema both old and new, including the work of Takashi Miike? I think not. If you enjoyed 'Kill Bill: Vol 1' check out Miike's 'Fudoh' and 'Ichi' and 'Dead Or Alive' trilogy, and Kinji Fukasaku's amazing 'Battle Royale', and you'll immediately see the energy and black humour that Tarantino is currently drawing upon. 'Fudoh: The New Generation' is an instant classic. Fans of action, crime, or exploitation movies will eat it up!

I've mentioned in some of my other reviews ('Ezo Ezo Azaraku II' and 'Mr Vampire') that SBS (a free-to-air Australian channel specializing foreign programs) shows some pretty cool and pretty weird. That being said, I watched this not knowing who Takashi Miike was, and ignoring SBS's usual "warning: this program contains material that may disturb some viewers". That was quite the understatement. I reckon 'Fudoh' could disturb most viewers.

When Riki Fudoh (Shosuke Tanihara) was a child, he witnessed his father Iwao Fudoh, a yakuza boss, behead Riki's older brother, Ryu. Ryu has committed crimes against the Yakuza and dishonoured his father, and in such a society, it is Iwao's duty to kill him, regardless of Ryu being his first son. Naturally, this has an impact on Riki. Skip to Riki in high-school, and he is now the boss of his own Yakuza gang, with the intent of taking out the older generation of Yakuza, and destroying the old ways. Only in Japan...

'Fudoh' plays out as quite the violent yakuza drama. It may not have the body-count of a John Woo or Quentin Tarantino movie, but the "controversial violence" of Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' has nothing on this, and I'd be willing that Woo would much prefer to avoid making anything like this. Riki's yakuza gang is made of up teenagers and kids. Very early into the movie, we see some kids (I dare say no older than 8 at the most) pull out their hand-guns and assassinate a rival Yakuza. That I could barely handle, but Miike just goes further and further with some rather unusual acts of violence and very bizarre sex-scenes.

And even through all that, there is still a plot. 'Fudoh' explores the same theme as 'Battle Royale' - the younger generation of Japanese not understanding, or not willing to understand, the long-lasting feudal traditions in Japanese culture. OK, I'll admit that is how I understood it. Maybe I got it wrong, maybe I was just looking for something that wasn't there, but I'm fairly sure that my interpretation is at least somewhat correct. It is easy to overwhelmed by the action on-screen, and I wouldn't be surprised if some people completely missed any theme and left only with the image of someone's brain stuck to a wall.

'Fudoh' is a good movie, but not for the faint of heart. Or most people. In fact, it may be best if only shown to fans of the more violent action movies from Asia - 9/10