The Fable

The Fable has some really nice shots throughout the film as the central character, a professional assassin, goes on a hideout to live a normal life for a few months but is unable to and is instead driven to a world of crime again to save the lives of people he's not related with, but this time without killing a single soul. It is surprisingly funny, has a lot of action sequences, and is solidly clever in some parts, making it a fabulous experience for me. TN.

(Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 3rd Japanese Film Festival of India in Mumbai.)

This was the second Japanese film I've watched after Rurouni Kenshin (series)... this one is a pure action/comedy entertainer. I was not expecting this out when I started this movie on Netflix.. Just enjoyed throughout. Simply storyline, but executed very well.

Very seldom I watch Japanese movies. I gave this a shot, never heard of any actors or director and didn't know about the manga. It was a pleasant surprise. Very engaging characters, odd stories, very sweet fun humor.

The story is a about an mythical assasin "The Fable" - his real name Sato. He is taking a sabbatical year in another town together with his companion Yoko. He is struggling to live a normal life, but of course other criminals and assasins cannot leave him alone.

The pace of the movie is perfect. The story is bound in the everyday life they are trying to live. This gives them so much more character and depth than a typical action movie. The action is also very well done with some nice unique moments, and it is always mixed with their personal traits and interactions.

This is a light movie in many ways, both visually with much of the shots done during daytime, when it comes to the motives and actions of the warm hearted characters and with some very sweet humor. I strongly recommend it.

I first watched the sequel and then this. Both are kind of similar, although the sequel felt a little more grounded. Great action scenes, all actors do a great job, even the stupid faced Yakuza types that normally just bug out their eyes and jut their chins and shout rude slang, in this film they have a personality and act with care for their characters. As others noticed, it is a film threading a fine line between comedy and dark action, which doesn't always work, but mostly does.

In fact, the film feels really inconsistent: good acting in a manga adaption, forced sex trafficking followed by comedy, great action scenes in a rather unentertaining story, although not a formulaic one, deeper levels of characterization in a movie about an autistic assassin. Worth a watch.

I recently read the manga version, which is absolutely amazing, something which this movie aint.

Sometimes the story moves too fast, comedy can be really cringe and only works in manga, but there are some good bits.

Final fight is messy and shouldve been done like in the manga not John Wick style. Fable is an assassin, not an action hero. But I can understand it was done for entertainment purposes. I just didnt find Fable the legend characters think he is, just some moderately skilled guy who is not invincible.

Which brings me to conclusion: this shouldve been adapted to a TV show, which wouldve flashed out characters waaay more.

5/10.