Better Than the Average Bear
The stylised violence and comic expressionism of this manga adaptation shines comes through in the mix. Not always a consistent tone, but it has got an addictively enjoyable beat to it.
Katsuhisa Minami’s manga The Fable has been serialised in Japanese magazines since 2014, and has steadily earned an audience in that time. Telling the story of an anti-hero hitman, it’s as much of a satire as it is a slick and violent plunge into the underworld. Director Kan Eguchi brings it to life in vivid detail.
THE FABLE (ザ・ファブル) follows its titular hitman (Junichi Okada), known as The Fable for his elite jobs. He is given a year off to fulfil his most difficult mission yet: to live a normal life as Akira Sato. During that time he meets the charming Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto), who gets him a job. Their new life is threatened when recently released convict Kojima (Yuya Yagira) starts stirring up trouble, forcing The Fable to reemerge.
Kan Eguchi’s lens is a super stylish one, punching the audience almost immediately with super slick colours and a vivid backdrop. The tone is set during an establishing sequence in which the Fable’s “hitman vision” – a series of dotted lines connecting his bullets to their victims – first comes into play. It’s clear from this point forward that tongues will be planted firmly in cheeks.
Yet there’s also a slight tension between some of these styles. Taking its visual cues from modern action cinema, and its sense of humour from the source material, it’s safe to say that THE FABLE is an odd bird. Quite literally: as Akira Sato, the Fable has a pet bird perched on his head throughout the film. Reactions are over-the-top anime, but the violence and action sequences are quite bloody. It’s almost as if the film is at war with itself at times.
Junichi Okada (Sekigahara) is at his laconic best in the lead role. Stone-faced throughout much of his subtle performance, he’ll suddenly break into incongruous laughter while watching a slapstick TV entertainer. Playing off against this is the frequently incredulous Mizuki Yamamoto, with a running gag about the Fable’s ability to eat just about anything.
As the film builds to its factory shoot-out climax, there’s an unmistakable throwback quality found in THE FABLE. While it doesn’t quite all gel together, and it partly relies on your tolerance for a particular type of humour, you may find yourself irresistibly addicted to these characters. Given the longevity of the original manga, it wouldn’t be surprising if we hear more from this hungry assassin.
2019 | Japan | DIR: Kan Eguchi | WRITER: Yusuke Watanabe| CAST: Junichi Okada, Fumino Kimura, Daisuke Miyagawa, Sota Fukushi, Osamu Mukai, Yuya Yagira, Ken Yasuda, Jiro Sato, Kai Inowaki, Ryo Kimura, Mizuki Yamamoto, Koichi Sato | DISTRIBUTOR: Shochiku (JPN), New York Asian Film Festival (US) | RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 2 July 2019 (NYAFF)
