The Fable

2019
2h 3m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

3.1K

YOUR RATING

Trained as a ruthless assassin since childhood, a mob hitman is ordered to become a normal law-abiding citizen.

Play trailer1:31

1 Video

5 Photos

Martial Arts Action Comedy

Akira is the legendary killer known as the Fable. But his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.Akira is the legendary killer known as the Fable. But his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.Akira is the legendary killer known as the Fable. But his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.

Director
- Kan Eguchi
Writers
- Katsuhisa Minami
- Yûsuke Watanabe
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

3.1K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Kan Eguchi
Writers
- Katsuhisa Minami
- Yûsuke Watanabe
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins total

Videos1

Trailer 1:31

Trailer

Photos4

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The film was part of the line-up at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival in Toronto, Canada in 2019.

Crazy credits
There is a end credit scene at the restaurant with Sato and Misaki, with Sato devouring a whole chicken wing, including the bones.

Connections
Followed by The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill (2021)

Soundtracks
Born This Way
Written by Lady Gaga
Performed by Lady Gaga
Under License from Universal Music Japan

User reviews22

Featured review

8/10

A fine film, with acting way better than it deserved, but a silly premise

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.