Fish Story [DVD] [2009]

There are four things that make a good movie: a solid story (which always should have a twist inside), great visuals, perfect acting and some flawless direction. Fish Story contains all of that, but is not just good, it's ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!

The first scene shows us a weird guy in a wheelchair driving through a deserted town while a meteor is getting closer to earth. Films who start like that can't let you down at all. With the story set in 4 different time zones, the movie has never any boring moment. Every segment stands on its own and ends with the first half of a cliffhanger ending. The last part of each ending is explained (and linked) in the final minutes of the film. When you watch those pieces coming together at the end, it simply leaves you breathless!

Another plus point is the title song (and its highly entertaining story incorporated in this film). I listened to a lot of punk rock but this track is totally awesome! It begins with an unlikely soft ballad intro (which creates a great atmosphere) and then shifts into powerful punk rock action. The silent part in the middle is NOT ruining the song but is giving it more depth. And last but not least the lyrics: they are absolutely outstanding, almost philosophical and require repeated listenings to fully understand them.

Third Window's 25th DVD release is a worthy anniversary title that fits extremely well with the company's other masterpiece movies. If you don't buy that, you'll miss a lot of thrills! 5 Stars.

The less you know about the plot, the more you'll enjoy it. 'Fish Story' may not be high art, but it is a very well made and highly entertaining film, and deserves a far wider audience than, in all probability, it will get. With its clever and (apart from one or two arguably overlong segments) gripping mix of comedy, sci-fi, catchy punk music, suspense and tongue-in-cheek martial arts it's a no-brainer purchase for anyone who has enjoyed films like 'Turtles are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers', 'Summer Time Machine Blues', 'Instant Swamp', 'Big Man Japan' and 'Fine, Totally Fine'. And if you're not already a fan of 21st century Japanese cinema it's a great place to start. Don't watch the trailer if you can help it, though, there are several spoilers.

First time writer-director Yoshihiro Nakamura intricately weaves four seemingly random plotlines stretching from 1975 - 2012 about a defunct Japanese punk band that write a fabled hit called Fish Story which fails to strike a chord with its current target audience but ends up saving the planet some 37 years later by intercepting a looming comet: Does that sound bonkers? Well, it gets a lot crazier in this mind-boggling story of pure genius drenched in originality.

The legend sweeping through the music underground is that only people with psychic powers can hear a women scream during the one minute silent interlude halfway through Fish Story, and so; in the year 1982 a nerdy school kid becomes fascinated with the track and later gets informed by a young psychic source that he will one day be responsible for saving the planet.

The multi-layered, time juggling jigsaw puzzle of a plot covers many disparate subjects such as: punk, plagiarism, romance, rape and impending armageddon; all perfectly blended together by a strong cast full of quirky characters that hold a strong sense of mystery as to how the quadrigeminal storylines will eventually pull together. The ending doesn't disappoint either and is guaranteed to put a wry smile upon your countenance and seduce you into rewatching this genre-hopping apocalyptic novelty again and again. Am I bigging this up too much? Sorry, but flicks like this come few and far between.

So, if you're looking for an oddball comedy/sci-fi with supernatural overtones that occasionally explodes into cool kung-fu action courtesy of "The Champion Of Justice", and has some catchy punk music laced with misinterpreted lyrics, then you really need to stick this excellent debut from Nakamura in the basket; i've already got him penned down as an artist to look-out for in the future. I really hope he can deliver another stonking picture this magnificent again in the not too distant future - highly recommended.