Reel Rarities: Fish Story (2009)
Reel Rarities is a column dedicated to highlighting obscure, underwatched, and just plain underrated genre films. They may not always be “good,” but they’ll most certainly always be loved.
Imagine the cinematic equivalent to finding a beaten-up composition notebook with the words “Music will save the world!” scrawled in bold black Sharpie on its first and only filled-out page. That’s Fish Story in a nutshell. This underseen Japanese classic desperately requires more acolytes, making it a perfect choice for the inaugural Reel Rarities film.
Directed by Yoshihiro Makamura, Fish Story presents a mixtape of interconnected vignettes with the chronological order set to Shuffle.
In 1975, a year before the punk movements in New York and London, a rock band called Gekirin creates their swan song single, “Fish Story.” In the (at the time) near future of 2012, a massive comet hurtles towards the Earth with guaranteed impact, promising an extinction level event. Does a forgotten song by a forgotten band from the 70’s hold the key to stopping the comet? Can punk rock save the world?
Summarizing the plot any further robs you of your first experience with Fish Story because that’s precisely what this film is: an experience. One not unlike discovering a rare 7” single and playing it for the first time. You’ll feel excited, not overwhelmed, to be jumping about the 40 year history covered throughout the narrative.
Remember hanging out in a friends bedroom with a stack of records or CDs, gleefully chatting about urban legends and the hidden meanings behind countless songs? So does screenwriter Tamio Hayashi. So much so that he inserts the very same urban legend status to the film’s eponymous song, with callbacks to the real life legend surrounding “Love Rollercoaster” by Ohio Players, which theorized the scream heard within the song was actually the sound of a woman being murdered.
With its wacky concept, you’d be forgiven for thinking this film is another one of those outlandish goof-fests played by genre enthusiasts for their friends at 2AM. To that end, Fish Story often maintains a somewhat whimsical tone throughout many of its segments. Despite this, the portions focusing on the band and the creation of their final song ground the film in earnestness. Late into the story, the time jumps take an extended break in the 1970’s for what functions almost as a movie within a movie.
A biopic-like focus on Gekirin serves as a love letter to a band who never existed, and, in turn, becomes a love letter to the countless bands who did exist and go unrecognized by a world not quite ready for them, a circumstance this film ironically (and sadly) shares.
We’re treated to an intimate portrayal of a group of young men at a crossroads. Do they remain true to who they are, or do they compromise their vision to a spoiled producer in hopes they can make a little money? When the narrative rests on the band, the film delivers an authentic dedication to the fierce, independent spirit that fanned the flames of punk to begin with.
Not only does it successfully add emotional significance to the song, but by showcasing dauntless optimism into its creation, all of the segments that formerly held silliness are given full credence.
Each prior segment carries a particular mood purposefully set up to throw off the tone. One recurring segment mimics the atmospheric beats of a Japanese horror film, always keeping the viewer anxious, but never quite crossing the edge into the genre full stop. Yet another storyline presents a spin on comedic martial arts tales.
Makamura smartly plays each segment straight. When riffing on a horror film, it genuinely feels like a horror film. It’s shot with tense precision and makes sparse use of the score to excellent effect, whereas the portion utilizing comedy and martial arts is presented more loosely, generating a more whimsical tone.
When Gekirin’s story ties everything together, Fish Story sticks the landing despite how many genres and moods it juggles. The same frenetic punk energy the band brings to its music, the filmmakers brought to the presentation of their film.
It also needs to be mentioned that, unlike a number of fake rock bands throughout cinema history, Gekirin’s music, composed by Kazuyoshi Saito, is pretty freaking fantastic.
In a time when the world is on fire, with so much toxicity into the ether, Makamura’s film is a pure antidote. Its resilient hopefulness infects you for days after viewing like the expertly crafted chorus it is.
Anyone who holds a passion for music, whether it be creating, writing about, or consuming, needs to see Fish Story at least once in their life.
If you want the perfect Japanese double feature dedicated to the joy and craft of the creative arts, pair Fish Story with the love letter to filmmaking that is 2017’s One Cut of the Dead for a day guaranteed to fill you with inspiration, hope, and genuine love for the films’ respective mediums.
As for how to see this film? Unfortunately, if you live in the US, viewing it legally is going to be a journey. No streaming service currently houses it, and the DVD is long out of print. When it does pop up on the secondary market, its pricey. You can, as of writing, rent the physical DVD via Netflix, which is your best and likely cheapest option until a company like Arrow Video saves this film from obscurity. If you have a region-free DVD player, however, the Region 2 DVD is available for a very reasonable price.
Caution: the following trailer does give a bit away more than it should. If you want to walk into the film more blindly (and I highly recommend that you do), I would not advise watching it. Otherwise: enjoy!
