Cold Fish

This article is about the film. For the song, see Cold Fish (song). For the geologic formation, see Cold Fish Volcanics. For other uses, see wiktionary:cold fish.
Cold Fish
Promotional release poster
Directed bySion Sono
Written bySion Sono
Yoshiki Takahashi
Produced byYoshinori Chiba
Toshiki Kimura
StarringMitsuru Fukikoshi
Denden
Asuka Kurosawa
CinematographyShinya Kimura
Edited byJunichi Ito
Music byTomohide Harada
Production
company
Release dates
  • September 7, 2010 (2010-09-07) (Venice)
  • January 29, 2011 (2011-01-29) (Japan)
Running time
145 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Cold Fish[a] is a 2010 Japanese crime horror film directed by Sion Sono, who co-wrote the screenplay with Yoshiki Takahashi. It stars Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, and Asuka Kurosawa. Loosely based on the true story of serial killer couple Sekine Gen and Hiroko Kazama, it follows a middle-aged couple who offer to help a man's troubled teenage daughter by giving her work at their fish store, only for her to discover their dark secret.

Cold Fish premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2010, and received the best screenplay award in the Fantastic Features section at the 2010 Fantastic Fest. The film was released as part of the Bloody Disgusting Selects line in Japan on January 29, 2011.

Plot

Nobuyuki Shamoto is a quiet man who runs a small tropical fish shop in Shizuoka, Japan. His home life is unhappy. His teenage daughter Mitsuko is rude and violent, especially toward his second wife, Taeko. One day, Mitsuko is caught stealing from a supermarket. A stranger named Yukio Murata steps in, convinces the store manager to let her go, and then invites Nobuyuki and his family to visit his much larger fish shop. Murata is cheerful, loud, and friendly. He offers Mitsuko a job and suggests that he and Nobuyuki should become business partners. Nobuyuki feels grateful and slowly becomes involved in Murata’s business.

At first, everything seems exciting and new. Murata introduces Nobuyuki to expensive fish, new clients, and the idea of making more money. But soon, things take a dark turn. Murata and his wife Aiko are actually serial killers. They run their fish business as a front to scam, kill, and get rid of people they see as threats. Murata begins to force Nobuyuki to help him hide bodies and clean up after murders. He uses pressure, flattery, and fear to control him. Nobuyuki becomes more afraid and trapped, and he starts losing his sense of right and wrong. Meanwhile, Mitsuko seems to be adjusting to life at Murata’s shop, but Nobuyuki does not know what is really happening to her.

By the end of the story, Nobuyuki has become deeply involved in Murata’s crimes and feels he has no way out. After being humiliated and pushed too far, he finally snaps and kills Murata. But by then, the damage is already done. He has lost control of his life, his family is broken, and he has blood on his hands. The film ends with Nobuyuki standing alone, covered in blood, completely changed from the man he was at the beginning.

Cast

Production

Following Alien vs Ninja and Mutant Girls Squad, Cold Fish is the third film to be released by Nikkatsu's Sushi Typhoon, the branch of their production company specializing in gore.[1] Director and co-writer Sion Sono was influenced by Japanese crime cases while developing Cold Fish, specifically the serial killer couple Sekine Gen and Hiroko Kazama.[2][3] Sono also wanted to "depict a sense of total hopelessness" which he felt is "lacking in Japanese films".[2]

Release

Cold Fish premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival on September 7, 2010.[1] It was also shown at film festivals in Pusan and at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received its North American premiere.[4][5] Cold Fish won the best screenplay award in the Fantastic Features section at Fantastic Fest 2010.[4] It was released in Japan on January 29, 2011.[1]

Reception

Film Business Asia gave Cold Fish an 8/10 rating and singled out actor Denden for praise, stating that the film "may never have worked" without his "tour-de-force performance".[1] The review also said, "Though there's considerable gore on display, it's largely cartoonish. Cold Fish is not so much a blood-and-guts horror movie, more a danse macabre about social breakdown."[1] Total Film gave the film a 3/5 rating, suggesting that its plot twists and use of dark comedy offered a welcome reprieve from the "largely hysterical acting and rivers of viscera".[6]

The Guardian found the film to be "fairly ordinary" in comparison to Sono's other works and felt that it was too long.[7] Radio Times gave the film 3/5 stars and praised the acting from Denden, Fukikoshi, and Kurosawa; it also singled out Shinya Kimura's photography and Takashi Matsuzuka's production design, which it felt made up for some of Sono's "overindulgent directorial moments".[8]

Notes

  1. ^ 冷たい熱帯魚 (Tsumetai Nettaigyo, lit. Cold Tropical Fish)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Elley, Derek (September 10, 2010). "Cold Fish (冷たい熱帯魚)". Film Business Asia. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  2. ^ a b CJ (November 28, 2010). "Sion Sono's 'Cold Fish' nets Japan premiere at Tokyo Filmex". The Tokyo Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Brown, Todd (January 20, 2011). "Screenwriter Yoshiki Takahashi Talks COLD FISH". Twitch. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Landreth, Jonathan (November 8, 2010). "Notorious Japanese Director Sion Sono Unveils Next Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2011. (subscription required)
  5. ^ Deming, Mark. "Cold Fish". Allrovi. Archived from the original on November 29, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  6. ^ Harley, Kevin (April 13, 2011). "Cold Fish". Total Film. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  7. ^ French, Philip (April 10, 2011). "Cold Fish – review". The Guardian. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  8. ^ Parkinson, David. "Cold Fish". Radio Times. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
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