Maxance Vincent
At this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, genre cinema enthusiasts have the privilege to attend not one, but three screenings of new works from one of the greatest-ever Japanese filmmakers: Takashi Miike. A prolific artist in his own right, Miike has directed over 100 feature films, ranging from the ultra-violent and controversial Audition and Ichi the Killer to adaptations of Mogura no Uta and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. He can do it all, even produce an anime series where, in a near-future, the world is grappled by a pandemic of a virus that turns people into cats, causing societal collapse because the powers that be don’t want to kill these lovable (but dangerous) animals.
That was the first title of his screened at Fantasia, the first four episodes of Nyaight of the Living Cat, which, earlier during the festival, caused the Hall auditorium to erupt in loud meows (a staple for anyone attending – even Together director Michael Shanks was surprised by this) to thunderous applause. His second title, Blazing Fists, which Miike himself directed, is vastly different from his cat-related anime and is very much in line with what he’s mostly known for: a bare-knuckled, supremely violent actioner that simultaneously posits interesting questions on the nature of violence, while also being extremely funny.
One can even retitle Blazing Fists as Hype Moments and Aura: The Movie, because for 120 minutes, each character, immaculately dressed, aura farms as they contemplate the life they deserve to get instead of the life they have now. We follow best friends Ryoma (Kaname Yoshizawa) and Ikuto (Danhi Kinoshita), who, after getting out of juvie, decide to take their hands at the “Breaking Down” MMA tournament, in the wake of a visit from renowned fighter Mikuru Asakura, who tells them, behind bars, that a better life is waiting for them on the other side.
Of course, this will be much easier said than done, as the two friends are haunted by ghosts of the past, who seek out revenge, including old enemies, and a menacing gang, the Krishnas, led by J-pop superstar Gackt. Going into it, I absolutely thought this would be Miike’s version of Rocky, where underdogs given a second chance climb out to the top and succeed at life once more, even if things may not be going their way all the time. But Miike’s version of Rocky doesn’t entirely stay true to John G. Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone’s text. We’ve seen boxing movies treated countless times on film, and what sets Blazing Fists apart from the rest of the pack is how it is mostly interested in what’s outside of the ring, rather than when characters duke it out.
Don’t get me wrong: each fight scene, whether a classic 1v1 boxing match or an active fistfight, is immaculately shot and edited. It’s also as violent as you think a Miike film will get. The director holds nothing back in that regard, and even blocks the camera in specific ways so you feel each bone break or skull crush. It starts out excitingly kinetic and wildly intricate, until the violence takes a much darker turn (notably, with the arrival of Gackt, who has a penchant for perverse, torturous barbarity and has a big smile on his face as he beats his henchmen to a pulp) and Miike asks what the point of all of this is.
As the film becomes increasingly violent, even during a climax that has nothing to do with boxing and instead takes the fighting to the streets (Rocky V? Anyone?), Miike begins to explore how the roads to violence lead to more pain and suffering for the people who beget it. Everyone knows the old adage, but Ryoma and Ikuto get a taste of their own medicine head-on as each violent act they make leads to more unnecessary bloodletting. This is where they begin to contemplate what their life means and how they got to where they are. The result is surprisingly moving and much more focused on its core relationship than I would’ve envisioned.
In fact, Blazing Fists exceeded all of my expectations, because I foolishly thought the movie would retread familiar beats from boxing movies, with a splash of Miike’s dark humor and profoundly human characters. It wasn’t at all like that. The boxing is there, sure, but when the final “Breaking Down” fight occurs, Miike does something way different than what most filmmakers would do. He knows that we know how this story ends, and prefers not to give us the satisfaction of observing it, because Ryoma and Ikuto have turned their life around in more than meaningful ways for their success to last an eternity.
And even if the film is filled with many hype moments and aura, this is something Miike knows how to direct all too well, and continues to do so, even after more than 100 MOVIES under his belt. If you think Steven Soderbergh or Guy Ritchie pumping out one or two movies a year is a lot, they have nothing on one of the greatest and most prolific artists who has forever changed the imprint in genre cinema, and is showing no signs of stopping, with Sham (also screening at Fantasia) and the upcoming Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, which is currently in production.
Whatever he does next, I will undoubtedly be here for it, though I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to finish his filmography. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy, and we can add Blazing Fists to his ever-expansive canon of excitingly versatile motion pictures.
SCORE: ★★★1/2
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