(2009)
The Principals: Atsushi Ito, Kengo Kora, Mikako Tabe, Gaku Hamada. Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura.
The Premise: A Japanese punk rock band saves the world from an asteroid in 2012.
Is It
Good:
No. It’s amazing. The film weaves a Pulp Fiction-esque non-linear path from a punk band creating a song called “Fish Story” in 1975 all the way till 2012, where an asteroid bears down on the Earth. At its heart it’s a film about the power of music but it also cleverly manages to be a mashup of four different genre films- apocalyptic thriller, horror, kung fu and of course, music doc. It’s to the film’s credit that it manages to meld all the genres and storylines so perfectly and be such a satisfying experience, one where not everything makes sense on the way but it all ties together in the end.
Read my full review here but really, just watch this film as soon as possible.
Is
It Worth A Look: YES YES A MILLION TIMES YES
Random Anecdotes: The last two years I’ve had the privilege of covering the New York Asian Film Festival for CHUD, and both times I’ve come away with a film that held up as one of my favorites of the year. This year it was Castaway on the Moon, last year it was Fish Story. The worst part after reviewing a great film at a fest is inevitably the wait for the rest of the world to be able to catch up, but thankfully Netflix Instant has picked up Fish Story and is adding it to its Instant Watch selection TOMORROW.
Add this to your queue and fire that sucker up!
Cinematc
Soulmates: Wild Zero, Ju-on, Golden Slumber, Save the Green Planet.