Who is ready for the next look at one of the featured Letterboxd Lists?! This week we’re checking out a recently restored film that comes courtesy of the Top 250 Films by Black Directors list. Currently sitting at number 60… The Annihilation of Fish (1999).
Title: The Annihilation of Fish
Director: Charles Burnett
Released: September 12, 1999 (Premiere – Toronto International Film Festival – Canada)
Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
Available to stream on: The Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Kino Film Collection
Fish (James Earl Jones) is a widower who is about to be released after spending the last ten years in a New York mental health facility. As he describes it, his wife had recently passed, all of his friends were dead or in a bowling league, and he felt like he had no reason left to live. He decided to go on a walk and when he did, he noticed a demon crawling across the floor and peeping up a woman’s dress. So naturally, Fish jumped in and started wrestling the demon. The woman freaked out and called the police and that’s how he wound up in the mental health facility.
After his release, Fish decides that Los Angeles is where he’ll be able to rebuild his life. Upon arriving, he views an apartment and decides to take it. His landlady, Mrs. Muldroone (Margot Kidder) goes over her rules for the place with the most important being the correct spelling of her name. She’ll forgive you for almost anything, but not if you leave the ‘e’ off of her last name. Fish tells her about his occasional wrestling and she is perfectly fine with it, just don’t spell her name wrong.
Meanwhile, Poinsettia (Lynn Redgrave) is going through some struggles of her own. For years now, she has been trying to marry her invisible love, the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Not only is he invisible but Giacomo Puccini has been dead since 1924. Occasionally, she will sing opera to him for all to hear. More often than not, it isn’t well-received by those around her. Like Fish, Poinsettia has decided that Los Angeles will be where she starts over again.
She winds up in the same building as Fish, just across the hall from him. While touring the unit, Poinsettia receives the same lecture from Mrs. Muldroone about always making sure to spell her name correctly. Though things don’t start out too neighborly between Poinsettia and Fish. Her singing annoys him and his wrestling disturbs her.
How long will these three be able to coexist under one roof?
What a shame that one bad review at TIFF meant The Annihilation of Fish (1999) was almost lost to time forever. I am grateful that this was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and The Film Foundation.
Yes, there are times where stereotypes of people will mental health issues are leaned into. While there is some humor sprinkled in throughout, it never crosses a line into being insulting or demeaning. Instead, the humor is more situational than anything.
As for the performances, we have three heavy hitters who all deliver great performances. Kidder doesn’t let limited screen time limit her as Mrs. Muldroone. Her weed story alone is enough for you to invest in her. While Redgrave and Jones are both wonderful together, it is Jones who stole the show for me. Sure, his Jamaican accent flirts with being cartoony at times. But it is James Earl Jones and the humanity he brings to a man who literally wrestles with his own demons is second-to-none.
On a side note, I really appreciated how every time Fish threw Hank out of the second-story window, we could hear the leaves rustle and see the branches of the tree below shake as-if someone just landed on top of them.
Despite mental health being a focal point, The Annihilation of Fish (1999) is a film about the scars of life. We all accumulate scars over time. While they don’t define us as a person, they are a part of our story. And when you meet someone who can look past your scars and see you for you, well you can’t ask for much more than that.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, The Annihilation of Fish (1999) wasn’t even on my radar. Now that it is more easily accessible, I’ll be suggesting it to anyone and everyone that will listen.
Have you seen The Annihilation of Fish (1999)?
If so, tell me your thoughts on it in the comments below or by reaching out on Bluesky!
Curious to see what else I’ve been watching lately?
Give me a follow over on Letterboxd!
It is now ‘on the list’