The Fable
(2019) - 7.0
A really enjoyable Japanese hitman movie based on a Manga that treads a lot of familiar territory, but does it with a nice touch of dark humor and style. The film is stuffed with loathsome characters and crisscrossing plots. The film begins with a bang as a hooded hitman in black takes out an entire Yakazu gang that were having dinner. Pinpoint shots for each kill. The hitman is named The Fable. A legendary killer. Only his boss (Koichi Sato) knows who he is. Some in the underworld think the Fable is just an urban legend. No one could just take out a whole gang and walk away.
After the killings, the Boss tells the Fable (Junichi Okada) that he has to lay low for a year and go live in in Osaka under the name Sato and that his partner Yoko (Fumino Kimura) will go with him posing as his sister. The Boss tells him that he has to be normal; no killing. Sato has no concept of what normal even is; a complete sociopath with zero social skills. Or dining etiquette. Leading to some amusing moments and his reaction to hot food is very manga. He is a murdering sociopath but he is our sociopath and the hero of our story. The rest of the Yakuzas are total creepy psychos. By comparison, he ia the good guy.
Of course, things get complicated. Being normal is hard. Especially, with two other hitmen trying to track him down, getting stuck in the middle of a gang civil war, a truly evil sociopath who will make your skin crawl away and hide tries to pimp the woman (Mizuki Yamamoto) that was nice to him. And he can't use his natural talents because his boss will order his death. A wonderful action set piece is ahead that is beautifully staged. Junichi Okada who has studied martial arts for years gives a terrific performance of restraint with an edge of savant kookiness.
The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill (2021) - 8.0
The sequel to The Fable (2019) still has Sato and his pretend sister Yoko living in Osaka trying to lead a normal life. Not easy for a legendary hitman with no social skills. Trouble always comes their way. And still under orders from his Boss not to kill anyone. The penalty for doing so is death. This follow up has much less action but the big set piece in an apartment building with outdoor hallways and scaffolding around the building is worth the price of admission. I have to think it was very much influenced by Hong Kong action. Think of the great Hong Kong films with set pieces on scaffolding combined with the great action set piece in Time and Tide. It is breathtaking with one stunt after another at a furious pace.
This time the film really tries to make Sato (Junichi Okada) into a good guy. Sure a professional killer but one who will risk everything to save a little girl. And watches TV with his parakeet on his head. As good as the action is, it is the other aspects of the narrative that give it emotional depth and make the ending powerful and gripping. Sato is still working as a delivery man for a small shop where Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto) from the first film works. She has no idea that it was her eccentric harmless co-worker who saved her by going into a hornets nest of Yakuza and bringing her out. This time he has to save another girl.
Four years before the start of this film, Sato was given an assignment to kill five men who run a prostitution ring. The first four are easy but in the fifth he kills a man driving a car and then notices there is a young woman (Yurina Hirate) in the back seat crying and he desperately tries to get her out before the car goes over the edge of a building. Now he sees her again. Paralyzed due to the car wreck. And part of a team of vicious conmen. But he knows it is his responsibility to protect her. Perhaps a little touch of The Killer. Yoko (Fumino Kimura) is great in this as well as she tells a hitman that she can kill him in six seconds and gets angry with herself when it takes eight seconds to subdue him. The Fable is famous for his six second kills. This is very good. Better than the first since all the pieces are already known and it is a much simpler story. Save the girl. Don't kill anyone.
A really enjoyable Japanese hitman movie based on a Manga that treads a lot of familiar territory, but does it with a nice touch of dark humor and style. The film is stuffed with loathsome characters and crisscrossing plots. The film begins with a bang as a hooded hitman in black takes out an entire Yakazu gang that were having dinner. Pinpoint shots for each kill. The hitman is named The Fable. A legendary killer. Only his boss (Koichi Sato) knows who he is. Some in the underworld think the Fable is just an urban legend. No one could just take out a whole gang and walk away.
After the killings, the Boss tells the Fable (Junichi Okada) that he has to lay low for a year and go live in in Osaka under the name Sato and that his partner Yoko (Fumino Kimura) will go with him posing as his sister. The Boss tells him that he has to be normal; no killing. Sato has no concept of what normal even is; a complete sociopath with zero social skills. Or dining etiquette. Leading to some amusing moments and his reaction to hot food is very manga. He is a murdering sociopath but he is our sociopath and the hero of our story. The rest of the Yakuzas are total creepy psychos. By comparison, he ia the good guy.
Of course, things get complicated. Being normal is hard. Especially, with two other hitmen trying to track him down, getting stuck in the middle of a gang civil war, a truly evil sociopath who will make your skin crawl away and hide tries to pimp the woman (Mizuki Yamamoto) that was nice to him. And he can't use his natural talents because his boss will order his death. A wonderful action set piece is ahead that is beautifully staged. Junichi Okada who has studied martial arts for years gives a terrific performance of restraint with an edge of savant kookiness.
The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill (2021) - 8.0
The sequel to The Fable (2019) still has Sato and his pretend sister Yoko living in Osaka trying to lead a normal life. Not easy for a legendary hitman with no social skills. Trouble always comes their way. And still under orders from his Boss not to kill anyone. The penalty for doing so is death. This follow up has much less action but the big set piece in an apartment building with outdoor hallways and scaffolding around the building is worth the price of admission. I have to think it was very much influenced by Hong Kong action. Think of the great Hong Kong films with set pieces on scaffolding combined with the great action set piece in Time and Tide. It is breathtaking with one stunt after another at a furious pace.
This time the film really tries to make Sato (Junichi Okada) into a good guy. Sure a professional killer but one who will risk everything to save a little girl. And watches TV with his parakeet on his head. As good as the action is, it is the other aspects of the narrative that give it emotional depth and make the ending powerful and gripping. Sato is still working as a delivery man for a small shop where Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto) from the first film works. She has no idea that it was her eccentric harmless co-worker who saved her by going into a hornets nest of Yakuza and bringing her out. This time he has to save another girl.
Four years before the start of this film, Sato was given an assignment to kill five men who run a prostitution ring. The first four are easy but in the fifth he kills a man driving a car and then notices there is a young woman (Yurina Hirate) in the back seat crying and he desperately tries to get her out before the car goes over the edge of a building. Now he sees her again. Paralyzed due to the car wreck. And part of a team of vicious conmen. But he knows it is his responsibility to protect her. Perhaps a little touch of The Killer. Yoko (Fumino Kimura) is great in this as well as she tells a hitman that she can kill him in six seconds and gets angry with herself when it takes eight seconds to subdue him. The Fable is famous for his six second kills. This is very good. Better than the first since all the pieces are already known and it is a much simpler story. Save the girl. Don't kill anyone.
