When one first hears the plot summary of Yoshihiro Nakamura’s Fish Story, which basically boils down to a certain song by a failed mid-70s punk rock band eventually saving the human race from total annihilation, the essential question invariably arises: “wtf?” What does that even mean? Is it science fiction, supernatural thriller, comedy, or some sort of surreal ode to the power of rock music? How can a song possibly save the world? As it turns out, the film answers all of these questions in an intensely logical fashion, first familiarizing the audience with the individual pieces of the story—of which there are many—and then slowly stacking them all together like some sort of cinematic game of reverse Jenga.

Kotaro Isaka wrote the novel on which the film was based, and anyone familiar with his work knows that he enjoys weaving complex tales of interconnected lives. Whether it’s a double-cross caper story like “A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth” or an impactful family drama such as “Gravity’s Clown”, he continually challenges his audience to stick with his complex narratives for the eventual payoff. Consequently, these books happen to make for some really entertaining film adaptations, and Fish Story is no exception.

The main framework of the story is episodically cut into four time periods: 1975, 1982, 2009, and 2012—each with its own set of characters. We begin in 2012, with a gigantic comet ominously poised in the daytime sky and the city streets completely deserted save one man weaving through scattered debris on a mobility scooter. He notices a lone record shop still open for business, its two inhabitants seemingly unfazed by the catastrophic event a mere five hours away. After a fruitless 3-way conversation about the comet, the shop owner (Nao Omori) begins playing a strange old song called “Fish Story” on his turntable. He explains that it was recorded by a punk band called Gekirin (Wrath) in 1975. Unfortunately for them, punk wouldn’t be popular until the following year when the Sex Pistols broke into the mainstream. In the meantime, they were forced to break up due to lack of sales. “This song will save the day,” he says confidently, but without a hint of elaboration.

From here we jump back all the way to 1982, as a college student (Gaku Hamada) overhears an urban legend about the same song, which we now learn has a mysterious 1-minute gap of silence. It’s said that a woman can be heard screaming on the recording, but only by people with a special 6th sense. Later at a bar, he meets a girl named Haruko who makes the rather odd prediction that he will save the world one day. She approaches him again with a second prediction: he’ll meet a woman he’s fated to meet that night, as long as he doesn’t let her get taken away from him. But when faced with this very situation later on, Haruko herself is taken away from him by his domineering bully of a friend. It seems as though he’s messed up fate after all…

In 2009, a high school girl named Asami (Mikako Tabe) falls asleep during a school boat trip and ends up stuck on a subsequent trip to Hokkaido—an awful fate for any Tokyo girl. In the midst of a comical crying fit, she’s approached by a kindly baker (Mirai Moriyama) who tries to calm her down by telling her a story about how his father trained him to be a “champion of justice”. This, of course, sounds like some sort of pickup line gone horribly awry until armed hijackers try to take over the ship and he’s forced to spring into action, rapidly striking them down while maintaining zen-like composure. Unfortunately, in his noble effort to protect Asami, he ends up getting shot by a hijacker.

These are just a few of the characters we meet along the way, each with their own seemingly unrelated side-stories. Tamio Hayashi’s screenplay jumps back and forth between time periods several times, carefully doling out details from each in a way that will keep all but the most astute guessers in the dark until the epiphanic final scene. Of course, if you do get lost along the way, there’s an incredibly gratifying recap at the end to bring everything together and take any guesswork out of the equation. I defy anyone to not be left grinning like an idiot at the end of this one. It’s probably a case where the less you know going in, the more enjoyable it will be—a marketing nightmare to be sure, but an incredibly fun film that lends itself to repeat viewing.

Acting is solid—anchored by veteran Omori who takes on two pivotal roles and Kengo Kora as Gekirin’s passionate yet impressionable young vocalist, Goro. But the 2009 boat scenes obviously stand out due to the mix of comedy and martial arts action in what is otherwise a pretty low-key film with indie sensibilities. Ardent J-film fans will recognize Mikako Tabe (the sullen high school girl) from her roles in Hinokio, Night Time Picnic, and several other movies available only on import DVD. Her character’s flighty persona and over-the-top pouting may grate on some, but her hammy performance is a calculated move that makes a later scene infinitely more enjoyable. Moriyama steals the show as the champion of justice though, utilizing his real-life background as a ballet dancer to gracefully dispatch the bad guys without breaking a sweat.

You probably won’t find this one on any box office earnings lists at the end of the year; it was a relatively small film with limited financial backing and found itself up against Kankuro Kudo’s much-hyped punk rock comedy, The Shonen Merikensack. However, people that actually did give it a chance were not disappointed, giving it consistently high user ratings on all the major Japanese film sites. Fish Story has a quirky charm that defies spoiler-free explanation, but adventuresome film fans who decide to check it out anyway will be rewarded for their curiosity.

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Tags: atsushi ito, eiko otani, fish story, gaku hamada, hidekazu mashima, hiroshi yamamoto, isao nonaka, kazuki namioka, kei tamura, kengo kora, kenjiro ishimaru, kiyohiko shibukawa, koichi ueda, kotaro isaka, mai takahashi, makoto ashikawa, matomu onda, mikako tabe, mirai moriyama, nao omori, noriko eguchi, punk rock, reiko kusamura, rock n roll, takashi yamanaka, toshimitsu okawauchi, yoshihiro nakamura, yuji nakamura