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The Fable
Za Faburu

Japan 2019
produced by
Aeon Entertainment, Geek Sight, GyaO, J Storm, Kodansha, Shochiku
directed by Kan Eguchi
starring Junichi Okada, Yuya Yagira, Mizuki Yamamoto, Fumino Kimura, Koichi Sato, Ken Mitsuishi, Osamu Mukai, Zuimaro Awashima, Shingo Fujimori, Sota Fukushi, Ryo Kimura, Ken Yasuda, Masao Yoshii, Moro Morooka, Janryu Fujiwara, Seiji Rokkaku, Toranosuke Kato
screenplay by Watanabe Yusuke, based on the manga by Katsuhisa Minami, music by Antongiulio Frulio

review by
Mike Haberfelner

The Fable (Junichi Okada) is the top yakuza hitman pretty much ever, he kills with a precision and at the same time remains untraceable, thus being nothing more than a phantom. And wearing a ski mask only helps to keep those who happen to survive his massacres off his trail. But he has become too successful, so his boss/trainer/mentor (Koichi Sato) decides to send him and his partner Yoko (Mizuki Yamamoto) to Osaka to lie low for a year - and he goes so far to threaten to kill Fable himself if Fable should kill only one more person during that year. There is one tiny problem, Fable has never been anything but a contract killer, he has been trained by his boss since a very young age, so he doesn't really know how to lead a normal life, how to get a job, how to "work", even how (or what) to eat. Now fortunately he strikes a friendship with neighbour Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto), who has pity with the socially odd Fable and gets him a job in a company that prints posters and flyers, where he soon becomes a designer, despite his drawing skills being that of a five year old.

But of course, evil never sleeps, as Hamada (Ken Mitsuishi), boss of the Osaka branch of the yakuza clan Fable belongs to, wants to use his talents for his organisation ... and is a bit disappointed when Fable refuses to kill anyone. Then Hamada's blood brother Kojima (Yuya Yagira) is released from prison and starts to cause havoc. Now he's an evil and unrestrained brute who takes pleasure in turning girls into prostitutes, and next on his list is of all people Misaki. Thing is, Hamada's branch is also in turmoil, as young hotshot Sunagawa (Osamu Mukai) doesn't like the way Hamada runs business, and he figures to get him beyond breaking point he best kidnaps Kojima - and Misaki in the process as well. Hamada turns to Fable to free his blood brother, and Fable can't refuse, as Sunagawa's men hold Misaki as well. Still, Fable has sworn not to kill anyone, and he vows to abide by this rule - so he goes into battle with guns loaded with duds - duds that still hit hard but can't kill. But given the manpower Fable's up against, it's more than questionable if this is even nearly adequate ...

 

Before everything else, The Fable is pretty insane: It's chock full of well-staged and inventive action sequences, but it's also carried by humour reaching from the wacky to the absurd, it's filled with over-the-top characters, many of which intentionally cross the line to caricature, and its fast-paced story twists and turns in very unexpected ways. But inbetween all of this, The Fable also has lots of heart, and it at least adresses the darker and sadder aspects of its story.

In all, The Fable might not be an absolute masterpiece, as some story elements seem to be too far-fetched in even the film's rather outrageous plot, other bits and pieces seem to only pad out the story rather than serving a narrative purpose, but at the same time, the film's just lots of fun to watch and should work very well as a party movie!

 

 

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review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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Thanks for watching !!!

 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
Amazon!!!