Tsumetai nettaigyo
Tags: violence, psychological, murder

Plot synopsis:
In an unhappy home, Mr. Shamamto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) lives with his second wife Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka) and daughter Mitsuko (Hikari Kajiwara) from first marriage. The daughter is filled with rage that her father remarried so shortly after her mother's death. The stepmother lives with the guilt that perhaps she is the cause of her stepdaughter's troubles. In this uneasy enviornment, Mr. Shamamoto runs "Shamoto's Tropical Fish Store" out of their home.Then on a rainy evening Mr. Shamoto receives a phone call and learns his daughter has been caught for shoplifting. Mr. Shamamoto and his wife quickly leave for the store. When they arrive, they find a furious manager in the back storeroom berating their daughter. The Shamoto's apologize profusely, but their words fail to appease the seething manager, who believes this isn't the first time their daughter has stolen from the store. In fact, the manager is threatening to call the police.Suddenly, a seemingly mild manner man walks into the storeroom and attempts to pacify the manager. The man's name is Mr. Murata (Denden) and he is the owner of "Amazon Gold Tropical Fish Store". Mr. Murata is also the person that reported their daughter to the manager. The man has a way with his words and in no time the manager is wrapped around his finger. Before leaving the store, Mr. Murata invites the Shamoto family to visit his tropical fish store, which is only a few miles away. While leaving the store he offers to drive their daughter in his brand new red ferrari.When the Shamoto's arrive at "Amazon Gold Tropical Fish Store" they are amazed by the vast selection of fishes and the sheer expansiveness of the store. They also meet Mr Murata's wife (Asuka Kurosawa). During their chat at the store Mr. Murata offers their daughter a job at "Amazon Gold Tropical Fish Store" and boarding at his workplace. He currently has 6 other employees living in his company dormitory. The Shamoto's, already in awe of Mr. Murata's success, do not refuse his offer. Their willingness to let their daughter stay & work there is partly due to their troubled daughter's need for help and partly due to the parents need for privacy in their small home. Unfortunately for the Shamotos, they soon learn that not all that glitters is gold and in fact they have fallen under the spell of a cold blooded serial killer.

Review: Shamoto tries to go against the grain, to say 'I don't want things to be like this.' But he finds himself alone against everything and has to learn some unpleasant truths about the world.This is a very bleak movie and over-the-top in its negativity.
Thrills, suspense, evil, yakuza, budding capitalist, hot women who flaunt their bodies, sex and of course murder.What else can you ask for especially when in each case everything is done to an 11?Compare this film to the copy/paste, reboot, remake, sequel routine that studio tools and hacks like JJ Abrams are putting out and you will see why America has become the laughing stock of the world.
After been shocked and transformed in Miike's transgressive "Visitor Q" a decade ago, I once again find a movie that hits me in the face and that I will be thinking about for days, weeks, months and years to come.
Its part horror, part black comedy (its extremely funny at times), part serial killer movie, with a huge dollop of allegory about business and Japanese society.
For that purpose there are far more gory "entertainment" out there to laugh or giggle at.If you're a fan of really dark thrillers with drama and characters with depth then you'll definitely love this movie.
There is a brooding intelligence behind all of his films.This is a very stark violent film and one that has the most provocative dialogue.Much broader questions are being asked outside of the action.I think that it is no coincidence that Guilty of Romance,Suicide Club, Love Exposure and this film are all based upon true events.I think that Sion's dark humour helps to elevate his films above the genre of just shock horror.There is a lot of breast grabbing and an intoxication with sexual pleasure in this film.Sexual acts are often violent and deviant in his films and the bizarre Christian symbolism is odd and challenging.I really liked how the candles were lit on the alter using a spray can.
I am interested that other reviewers have mentioned," Visitor Q", and I would add ,"I Saw the Devil", as possibly the most disturbing films that I have seen..Murata in this film is introduced as a friendly kind man with an obsession with fish.His character openly refers to how he was abused as a child later in the film.His wife however a woman who enjoys sexual gratification at any time and in all forms is probably the most depraved character in the film.All of the madness includes strange around the table tableau's of normal?
i've watched a few Japanese movies in recent years and mostly they are nearly always really interesting films.
Cold Fish has to be the strangest Japanese film i have ever seen.This is the story of two men who own two very different tropical fish stores and they are two men who have very different and extreme personalities.This is a very graphic and violent movie that contains scenes that must have put the actors through the ringer.
The physical and sexual violence is very real , it's just a shame that the film is far too long and that makes the extreme scenes lose their edge the longer the film goes on.I cant begin to explain the moral's of the story and i'm not even sure i liked this film but i can appreciate what the actors went through.If you interested in watching something very , very different , then Cold Fish will be right up your street..
Nobuyuki Syamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) muddles though life with a new wife, a daughter who shoplifts, and a crummy little fish store.
Sion Sono's latest, (very) loosely based on actual events, confirms the director as being one of the most inventive currently working in cinema today.This bleak tale of repressed, inhibited tropical fish store owner Mr. Shamoto, who when coerced into business partnership by fellow tropical fish vendor Mr. Murata, eventually leads him to violence and serial murder.This may be the blackest of black comedies you will see all year, but it is also the most furiously original and thought provoking.This years Visitor Q, if you will..
Mild mannered Nobuyuki Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi), owner of a modest tropical fish shop, lives with his pretty teenage daughter Mitsuki (Hikari Kajiwara) and surprisingly hot second wife Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka); sadly, the women in his life do not see eye to eye (to put it mildly).
Brash, charismatic, and cunning Murata uses this as an opportunity to begin manipulating the grateful Shamoto family, offering desperate Mitsuki a job as one of his store girls (all of whom are pretty, and wear tight vests and short shorts!), bringing meek Yukio under his wing as his apprentice, and sneaking a shag with the not-very-content Taeko.Murata also reveals to a Nobuyuki his unique method of dealing with difficult acquaintances: he poisons them and then, with help from his obedient and rather sexy wife Aiko (Asuka Kurosawa), takes the bodies to a remote shack where he makes them 'disappear' (ie., chops them up, burns the bones, and sprinkles the remains in the woods).
When Murata insists that Yukio help dispose of a victim, he is too shocked and scared too refuse; now, as an accomplice to murder, he finds himself trapped by the over-bearing and frankly quite scary Murata—fearful not only for himself, but also for the lives of his wife and daughter.However, a man can only be pushed so far: after several more stomach-churning visits to the shack, learning of his wife's infidelity, suffering a beating from Murata, and being forced to have sex with Aiko (the poor guy!), Nobiyuki finally snaps, attacking Mr and Mrs Murata with a biro (not the greatest of weapons, perhaps, but it does the trick).
The now empowered Nobiyuki also sets about straightening out his ungrateful wife and daughter, using methods definitely NOT sanctioned by most family guidance counsellors.Other reviews here on IMDb comment on what a harsh viewing experience Cold Fish is, with its brutal murders, bodily dismemberment, rape and in your face gore; but while it's certainly not what I'd call family viewing, I wasn't too fazed by the extreme content, finding much of the film darkly humorous rather than disturbing (but then I've watched a fair few gruesome Asian movies in my time, and am probably a tad desensitised).
Although the beginning of Cold Fish had stated that it was based on a true story, I had taken this with a large pinch of salt (so many movies make this wild claim); as it happens, most of what director Shion Sono depicts proves to be not all that far from the truth (at least until Nobiyuki snaps), making his film a lot more chilling in retrospect..
Things start out slowly, but soon you are thrown into the twisted world of that which is Cold Fish.Deeply entangled Mr. Shamoto meets fellow fish store owner Mr. Murato, where his world we be slowly turned upside down.
I'll begin by saying it's a long film, clocking in at almost 2 and a half hours and in the early stages you may feel you're watching some whimsical Japanese drama until it's dark underbelly starts to reveal itself.
The story begins with a timid tropical fish shop owner and his second wife being called to a store where his daughter has been caught shoplifting.
The part is played wonderfully and within a very short space of time we get to see just how psychopathic he really is, and it turns out his crazy wife Aiko is pretty much the same as him.Im not going to give anything away, but this movie has gore, rape, misogyny, and a few other sordid tasty bits that many may find unsettling.
It's interesting though that movies like Cold Fish were passed uncut in the UK by our wonderful censors, yet some flicks from way back when still haven't been passed in uncut versions here.
I just can't imagine a movie like Cold Fish getting remade and released to UK cinemas however as I can see the Daily Mail headline "ban this filth" already.
Take the business with fish here: the main idea of the film is that we are caught between manipulators who are putting on a show and gradually learn to manipulate from our end to become one, now what better way to posit this in a visual manner than by extrapolating many times over through fish inside acquariums framed for beauty but possibly deadly?This is like many of those old exploitation films from the 70's, toothless pretending to have some bite..
I never thought i would be laughing during a rape scene...This film starts very normal and slowly gets more screwed up as the story progresses, this is a must watch for any dark comedy fan.
Director Shion Sono (known for "Noriko's Dinnertable" and "Suicide Club") has put together yet another odd, bizarre, yet entertaining movie with the filming of "Cold Fish" (aka "Tsumetai nettaigyo").While "Cold Fish" is not suitable to everyone, given its slow pace, contents of the story or just because it is Japanese.
However, you should transcend these and sit down to watch "Cold Fish", because you are in for a very different type of movie.The story is about a small time seller of tropical fish named Nobuyuki who is given a chance to have his criminal daughter work at the biggest tropical fish store and he himself will have a chance to become business partners with Murata, the owner of the big store.
I was thoroughly entertained by the story with its depravities, oddities, bizarreness and bloodiness.What really worked for "Cold Fish" was the all round phenomenal cast.
The lead roles played by Misuru Fukikoshi (playing Nobuyuki) and Denden (playing Yukio Murata) were great actors and really carried the movie well.
A shame that the women didn't have more on-screen time though.The effects and gore, yes it has gore too, was actually quite good, despite it not being a focal point for the movie itself.If you enjoy Asian movies then you should most certainly sit down and treat yourself to some "Cold Fish"..
Just finished watching this movie and I must say, anyone who's a fan of East Asian horror flicks will like this film.
Cold fish is about a meek guy Syamoto and his life which is turned upside down when a fish store owner Murata and his wife enter his life.
In his first scene you might think Murata might do a better job at stand up comedy than owning a fish store, only till the movie's developments prove you wrong.
But Cold Fish sets itself apart as it picks a family next door right from it's normal mundane life situations and throws it into this disturbingly bloody world on screen.
All this is done brilliantly, however, if the movie was a tad-bit shorter, I would have liked it even more.The manic Murata (Syamoto's business partner, in some ways), played by Denden is a complex creature.
If 'Straw Dogs' was a shocker for the seventies, 'Cold Fish' is a wake up call; digging into the audiences' minds by using the voluptuous Megumi Kagurazaka as Taeko, the wife of Syamoto and the inciting Hikari Kajiwara.
Cold Fish, in so many words is 'Straw Dogs (1971)' taking a jet to Japan, into fish stores that look like LSD drain-houses and makes it shake hands with guts and gore.
Cold Fish, in so many words is 'Straw Dogs (1971)' taking a jet to Japan, into fish stores that look like LSD drain-houses and makes it shake hands with guts and gore.
He puts on Murata's skin and does not take it off, even when he offers a severed 'something' to our 'hero' to feel it.If 'Straw Dogs' was a shocker for the seventies, 'Cold Fish' is a wake up call; digging into the audiences' minds by using the voluptuous Megumi Kagurazaka as Taeko, the wife of Syamoto and the inciting Hikari Kajiwara.
Shamoto is a tropical fish seller, who is at odds with his rather dysfunctional family, namely his rebellious daughter Mitsuko, and his new wife Taeko.
Director Sion Sono has said that he wanted to "depict a sense of total hopelessness" which he felt is "lacking in Japanese films." (The Tokyo Reporter, Nov 28, 2010).
Cold Fish was a film I was really itching to see, not necessarily because of its story but because of its genre: Asian Extreme.
Can Shamoto find a sensible way out of this predicament, or will end up a stone cold killer like the man who claims to have found his apprentice.
There is a lot of depravity and violence throughout the film, much of it pushing the boundaries of tastefulness to the point that several audience members left half way through, several other during the final act.
Murata is wacky, over the top, and down right evil at times, but it's so perfect, the film needed a vivid and crazy character to give it a necessary black comedy element and it got that and much more.
In a perfect world, this guy would be nominated for a best supporting actor award, sadly performances like this get lost in translation, even still Murata commands and controls the film throughout; it's also helpful that our lead actor isn't fleshed out or acted nearly as well.
As far as cinematic depictions of rape go, I can tell myself it's just a film, but even still, Cold Fish subjects the viewer to a brutal rape scenes that go on to long and to far into perverse and wrongful territories that it became hard to take, or even justify as valid entertainment.
In what will very likely be the most brutal of the films this year, Sion Sono's latest film Cold Fish purports at the start that it's "based on a true story." Doing a little research one finds that it is based on a story of serial killers, albeit dog breeders instead of fish.
But this isn't to say Sono likely doesn't take some liberties in his story, despite (or with the help of) those title cards saying what the date and time is conveniently and then when it comes to the real crunch time of madness in the climax of the film there's even a stop-watch time code on the screen running even milliseconds as to the countdown of events.
It's a neat trick, perhaps the only real 'device' that Sono allows himself amid the naked honesty of the emotions of the characters.It's the story of a two fish store owners, one the timid but 'normal' Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) husband to a second wife (beautiful Kagurazaka) and father of a daughter who is not hers.
His daughter is caught one night shoplifting but comes to the attention at the store of a loud-but-seemingly-cheery other fish store owner, Murata (Denden).
Turns out it's not too far off an assumption.After Murata somehow convinces Shamoto's daughter to become one of his 'girls' who works at the fish store (and in the midst of his 'gettin-to- know-you-family' stuff has his way with Shamoto's wife), he drags the meek guy further into his darker pastime: he kills people, he and his wife Aiko (bubbly Kurosawa), who take a body from a guy who basically looks at Murata the wrong way to chop him up into little pieces and spill the parts into the nearby river.
For the Japanese, and for a character as emotionally bottled up as Shamoto, who's only release is looking at the stars, a guy like Murata is both the best and worst thing that's ever happened to him (best as in he does finally open up emotionally, worst in that his life will forever be in misery and madness).
Although COLD FISH is the third film I've seen from cult Japanese director Sion Sono, following on from SUICIDE CLUB and EXTE, it's the first that feels like the work of an auteur rather than just a director-for-hire.
I liked the protagonist's mild-mannered nature, which makes him feel realistic, although it's Denden who gives the film's most show-stopping performance.
Otherwise it's a wild ride involving perverse sex, anger, violence, murder, some extreme gore scenes, and a film that feels like something fellow auteur Park Chan-wook would have made.
"Nobuyuki Syamoto" (Mitsuru Fukikoshi ) is a quiet and unassuming man who owns a tropical fish store and simply wants to live in peace.
Unfortunately, the director (Shion Sono) seemed to get carried away with the blood and gore towards the last third of the film which severely impacted the movie as a whole.
Sono Shion amps it up in this tale of a tropical fish store owner, Shamoto, who crosses paths with alpha male Murata and finds his weaknesses exposed and inner strengths tested to the limit.The film is part gorefest, part schlockfest, and very, very bloody.
Like Love Exposure, this film is too long, and enjoys exploiting its female characters too much.
Some of the violence was a bit unnecessary and just for shock value, but at the same time, it sets you up for the twisted reversal of relationships that come in the end and serves as a catalyst for helping a lost family face themselves in all their ugliness..
'I hope you like cold fish' is probably the sexiest thing I'll ever hear a French girl say.Completely out of context, 'Cold Fish' is the latest work of 'Love Exposure' director, Sion Sono.
Being that it is over four hours long – and not even I can be arsed to sit through a film for that long – I have never seen 'Love Exposure', and so this was my first experience of Sono's work.The old 'based on a true story', then grossly exaggerated for cinema premise, we see boring, dull, pet fish shop owner, Shamoto and his family's lives turned upside down when the big and brash, tropical fish shop owner, Murata walks into them.What follows is a pretty standard offering, with violence, blood and sex thrown in for 'shocks', and it's all pretty entertaining, in a popcorn- movie kind of a way.