Fudoh: The New Generation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Directed by iconic cult favourite Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer , 13 Assassins) and starring Shôsuke Tanihara (Sky High) and Riki Takeuchi (Riki is well known to most Yakuza film fans, he has been a regular player in most ‘straight to video’ Yakuza tales. He also played the teacher in Batoru rowaiaru II: Chinkonka aka Battle Royale II as well as co-starring in all the Dead or Alive films)
Cover of Dead or Alive (Unrated Director’s Cut)
The ‘Readers Digest’ version of the plot is as follows:
When Riki Fudoh is a young boy, his Yakuza father kills Riki’s brother to escape death himself. It seems that Riki’s dad committed a heinous crime against another Yakuza crime lord and rather than pay the penalty himself, blames it on his eldest son.
Riki never tells his father that he saw him kill his brother, but as he gets older he becomes the head of a juvenile gang that is comprised of his fellow high school mates.
The gang may be made up of children, but the criminal acts they participate in are very grown-up. Under Fudoh’s tutelage they are carrying out a systematic assassination of several local Yakuza bosses.
Riki Fudoh is ruthless in his pursuit of crime. At the start of the film he kills one of his teachers for failing to pay what he owes. Working as a loan shark is just one of the many ways that Riki increases his power as a kiddie Yakuza.
Riki Fudoh gets help from a giant of a boy who pretty much volunteers to join Riki’s gang. He gives the huge lad a tour of his “training” facilities where very young children train in pairs with guns. One stands and shoots the gun while the other one provides a steadying brace. It is with this wide ranging age group of children that Riki plans to take over the local crime scene and to ultimately take on his father.
Fearing for his life Riki’s dad calls in outside help.
Fudoh: The New Generation is an atypical Takashi Miike film. In film circles he is known as the director who isn’t afraid to show the ‘under-belly’ of Japan. He shows characters on film that other directors would never dream of showing.
Fudoh is no exception. Riki’s two bodyguards are female high school students. At least they both look female. One is actually a hermaphrodite whose speciality is shooting darts from her vagina. The same ‘girl’ also stands up to urinate against a fence post. Such dexterity is to be admired.
Miike is also famous for using gallons of blood in any violent scene where most directors would use a pint. In one scene one of Riki’s body guards dispatches a local crime lord who is in the back of a police car. She serves him a cup of coffee which has been laced with poison. The crime lord begins to spew blood from his mouth. So much blood that it fills the back of the car and comes out in a four foot wave when the door is open. Typical Takashi Miike.
Related articles
- 13 Assassins (mrmovietimes.com)
- Finally A Remake That Lives Up To The Original: Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai (2012). (jpfmovies.wordpress.com)
Thanks for the ping back, I see you have some additional Miike films you discuss. Word on the street is that is next re-deux is going to be a Django film–that could get really interesting.
No problem. Well Miike’s already done Sukiyaki Western, which starred Quentin Tarantino. It was interesting but nothing to write home about. It would be interesting to see if he is going to go back to the “western well” again. Oh, and thanks for following my little blog, I’ve returned the favour. Cheers!