Shew! One time when I was reading one of many reviews of one of many Miike works, somebody used the phrase" Miike's personal brand of surreal gangster flicks." That there would be the perfect way to describe Fudoh: The New Generation. While showing off Miike's obvious inspiration in Kenji Fukasaku movies, he goes about it by way of Luis Bunuel, both delighting in the absurd while paying close attention to making it follow continuity and a dreamy sense of realism (inherent contradiction intentional). I'd like to call it, "like Gozu, but to the Yakuza genre than to the horror genre", but, well, again Miike defies genre base; after all, Gozu was about the tribulations of a Yakuza member, too.
But honestly, Fudoh: The New Generation does stand out in Miike's ever increasing oeuvre. It's interesting that, although reading a filmography of his makes it seem like he throws in the random classic in a long line of b-movies, it's actually the other way around, and some of the more ridiculously titled of his films are actually the better ones (Fudoh, Big Bang Love Juvenile A, Visitor Q). Fudoh: The New Generation is certainly one of the more underrated of his work. It showcases his general propensity towards over the top violence, sex, and body horror, but nonetheless proves that he's capable of some very effective drama, zany humor, and even disturbing social commentary, as needed. In a way, his best movies are the ones that reflect his oeuvre as a whole: strange, unpredictable, and all over the emotional spectrum in terms of how it affects you.
This time, though, there's something of an interesting metanarrative point: the theme of Fudoh is stated when the eponymous character says, "New blood must replace the old, else the body dies." Young Fudoh is talking about the Yakuza. Miike is talking about the Yakuza genre. This movie is about the love, honor, and respect of a well-known genre of Japanese film-making while also delighting in subverting its every cliché. I compare it to The Yakuza Papers, but not lightly: whereas the earlier series of films are obviously a cataclyst for the hyperactive styling of this new, younger generation of Japanese filmmakers, it still takes its traditional themes seriously, Godfather-like. Here, Miike throws the playful, the absurd, and the hermaphroditic into previously assumed roles and lets the blood spray when needed, lets it not when necessary.
It may be unpredictable, but it's far from absurd. I would actually recommend Fudoh: The New Generation to someone not previously exposed to Miike, because it's extreme without being too challenging on the viewer's sensibilities like Ichi or Audition, idiosyncratic without being too clandestine like Big Bang Love, and dramatic without being too reminiscent of previously established forms like Rainy Dogs. It's a good introductory movie to the fascinations of a prolific filmmaker whose every movie excites a feeling of the random and bizarre and yet don't fall into sorry repetition.
Definitely a must see, this one.
--PolarisDiB
But honestly, Fudoh: The New Generation does stand out in Miike's ever increasing oeuvre. It's interesting that, although reading a filmography of his makes it seem like he throws in the random classic in a long line of b-movies, it's actually the other way around, and some of the more ridiculously titled of his films are actually the better ones (Fudoh, Big Bang Love Juvenile A, Visitor Q). Fudoh: The New Generation is certainly one of the more underrated of his work. It showcases his general propensity towards over the top violence, sex, and body horror, but nonetheless proves that he's capable of some very effective drama, zany humor, and even disturbing social commentary, as needed. In a way, his best movies are the ones that reflect his oeuvre as a whole: strange, unpredictable, and all over the emotional spectrum in terms of how it affects you.
This time, though, there's something of an interesting metanarrative point: the theme of Fudoh is stated when the eponymous character says, "New blood must replace the old, else the body dies." Young Fudoh is talking about the Yakuza. Miike is talking about the Yakuza genre. This movie is about the love, honor, and respect of a well-known genre of Japanese film-making while also delighting in subverting its every cliché. I compare it to The Yakuza Papers, but not lightly: whereas the earlier series of films are obviously a cataclyst for the hyperactive styling of this new, younger generation of Japanese filmmakers, it still takes its traditional themes seriously, Godfather-like. Here, Miike throws the playful, the absurd, and the hermaphroditic into previously assumed roles and lets the blood spray when needed, lets it not when necessary.
It may be unpredictable, but it's far from absurd. I would actually recommend Fudoh: The New Generation to someone not previously exposed to Miike, because it's extreme without being too challenging on the viewer's sensibilities like Ichi or Audition, idiosyncratic without being too clandestine like Big Bang Love, and dramatic without being too reminiscent of previously established forms like Rainy Dogs. It's a good introductory movie to the fascinations of a prolific filmmaker whose every movie excites a feeling of the random and bizarre and yet don't fall into sorry repetition.
Definitely a must see, this one.
--PolarisDiB