q_leo_rahman
Filmmaker Yoji Kuri made some experimental animated works in the 1960s. His features are short and mostly focused on sparse and bleak visuals, centering on a subject and usually perverting it into a bizarre and darkly comic reflection. AU FOU is Kuri's most interesting piece. It is an anthology of eleven stories, each focusing on the various ways that people act foolishly and stupidly and the lethal consequences that happen. An SOS causes a boat to run aground; a bout of flatulence turns deadly in an enclosed space; a man thinking of beautiful women incurs the wrath of his wife. The shorts, while short and dark, will make you laugh at least once and are cleverly built around their twists. I would call this one of Kuri's best works, as it best showcases his penchant for black comedy. Be warned, though, this short may not appeal to everyone because Kuri is an acquired taste.
chribren
"Au Fou", also called "Satsujin Kyou Jidai", is a surreal animated short film, directed by Yoji Kuri.Basic plot: This short film contains little to no plot, and is mostly a compilation of surreal death scenes involving: Man running miles just to kill one man with a knife...; Man stranded on island and waving to a boat...; Woman dying by farting... Man falling down from skyscraper roof and seeing a woman...etc.Having watched several animated shorts made by Yoji Kuri, I find this one to be one of the most bizarre shorts I've seen from him, mostly due to the black humor. Also the best of the director's short films I've seen so far, as several of the segments put in this one often have somewhat unpredictable and surprising endings.Originally made in black-and-white and running for nearly 13 minutes. This film also exist in a colored "international version" in which two segment have been cut off, and segment titles are in French.Besides from some weird soundtrack and strange voices, this film has no actual dialogue.If you are into bizarre and surreal animated movies coming from Japan, and cartoons with black humor otherwise, I can recommend this one to you. My overall rating: 7/10.Some other bizarre short films coming from Yoji Kuri include: "Love" (Ai, 1963), "Aos" (1964), "The Window" (Mado, 1965) and "Human Zoo" (Ningen Doubutsuen, 1962).
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