A Fish Tale
Inspired by the same animation techniques seen in the Telltale Games, Fish Night is an interesting hedonistic trip into a dream world. While the story itself doesn’t do an awful lot, it’s ultimately the colours and aesthetic that make this a compelling watch. The plot begins with two salesmen stranded down a dusty, desert road in the middle of nowhere. With their car broken down and help miles away, the two men make the decision to wait it out until dawn before walking back to the nearest service station. Exasperated, the young man loses patience whilst the old man leans against the car, waiting out the stifling heat. As sunlight fades, the mundane quickly turns to the fantastical as the two men awaken from their slumber to find strange, neon fish swimming lazily around their car. Cautious, the old man holds back from getting caught up in the splendour while the young man strips off and follows the fish up to the edge of a chasm where he eventually jumps off and begins floating around, oblivious to the world around him. All seems well until a menacing red shark appears, heading right for the young man. As the shark sinks its teeth into his leg and rips him apart, spatters of blood float lazily into the air, painting the moon blood-red as the fantastical images fade away, leaving the old man on his own in the dead of night. While the story itself leaves many questions unanswered, as a hedonistic trip into another world Fish Night is certainly a really nice change of pace. As mentioned before, the art work feels very similar to that seen in Telltale Games, using a mix of hand-drawn animation with CGI imagery to make for a really interesting result. There’s some good time-lapse shots used here too with one tiny montage segment used to show the difference in personas between the two characters as they wait it out for night to set in. Thematically, there isn’t a whole lot here to cling to but at a push you could draw the conclusion that this one is all about wisdom and restraint. The stark contrasts between the two characters certainly personify this although realistically, Fish Night is ultimately here to serve up a dish of hedonistic, neon delights and for that alone, it certainly succeeds.
