Review of Fudoh: The New Generation

Fed up with the mainstream, uninspired Hollywood action movies? Hey, I don't blame you… Therefore, I strongly suggest turning your head towards the Asian film industry and search for Takashi Miike in particular. Miike is a very busy and ambitious movie-freak who already surprised the world with a couple of ultra-violent (on the edge of ‘sick') and hard-boiled thrillers, such as the ‘Dead or Alive'-series, Itchi the Killer and Visitor Q. But this film – Fudô – remains his very best achievement in my opinion. Simply put, Fudô is action from start to finish…stuffed with dared ideas, taboos and some of the darkest humor you'll ever see. It's about a young and good-looking boy who single-handedly wipes out the top of the Japanese drugs-mafia. With a little help from his classmates and a wide imagination, he avenges his brother's dead. A strong stomach and an eccentric sense of humor are required when watching Miike's film…bullets; blood and chopped-off heads are flying around constantly. The film's high tempo lowers a bit during the second half, as the story becomes slightly more sentimental and moralistic…but even then there's a lot of absurdity and joy to discover. Like the most bizarre sex scene ever, for example!

Miike doesn't seem to care about all the social values and that's his strongest power. I'm sure that, if someone would release a film like this in my country, there'd be tons of angry parents and worried sociologists complaining because of the involvement of children in Fudô. It just isn't ‘politically correct' to portray 8-year-olds with firearms but THAT is what makes Miike's film so unique. If you're not too easily shocked, you should check this film out. It's Miike's best since I wasn't that much a fan of his manga-playground ‘Itchi'.

Now…anyone up for a game of vagina-darts???