Azumi is the movie version of the popular Japanese Manga series of the same name. It is the story of children trained from tender young ages to be assassins. Azumi and the other "kids" are taught to be indestructible warriors; killing machines. It has a mind-blowingly harsh twist in the first 15 minutes which I cannot in good conscience give away...
Azumi was directed by visionary Ryuhei Kitamura (Verses). Ryuhei wanted to make sure the action sequences were realistic, so he used no stunt doubles, and had all the youngsters learning their intricate martial arts moves on the fly. The on-set squabbles between he and the film's Producer are well known, and documented in the DVD extras. It ain't easy to get what you want...
The apex of the film -- and this is a film -- is the climactic fight scene between our young Japanese pop star and an evil village of 200 lunatics.
I really enjoyed the performances -- the young actors are excellent, and I dig the whole "Japanese Oliver Twist" thing, wherein a "Fagin-like" character trains orphans to kill...
Bloody, heavy, very quirky and worth your time - a new kind of Samurai Film.
3 1/4 out of 5 Stars.
Let me know what you think...
AZUMI TRAILER
AZUMI TRAILER
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