Charles Burnett's The Annihilation of Fish

Hey everyone, it’s me. Drew. I just wanted to watch a movie every week with my brother, but Blake is dramatic. He had to turn it into a whole newsletter, so here I am.

Each week, we ask the tnmn community for film recommendations and feature some favorites for everyone to vote on. We’re going to remove the voting aspect for now and focus on creating great community watchlists together.

Visit the community watchlist hub or our Letterboxd to see every category we’ve created together so far — including last week’s school movies watchlist.

This week’s category: I’ll Have What She’s Having — films where you wish the plot would happen to you in real life. We’ll feature you in next week’s watchlist.

Note: If the movie doesn't comply with the category, I’ll go to law school and study to become a Hollywood agent. I’ll get really good, and all the big name actors will want to sign with me. Because I’ll be able to get anyone in anything. Then, I’ll intercept any films I suspect you’ll like, and make sure Dakota Johnson is cast in the lead role. Even if you treasure her sultry, dry delivery, you’ll get so tired of seeing her in movies. And she’ll exclusively star in movies that appeal to you. So, ya know. Follow the category.

FIRST R-RATED FILMS. Here’s last week’s watchlist organized into “super intuitive” categories created by me, a person whose wife describes him as “super intuitive”.

💖 Sentimental Picks. These ones were tied to a memorable experience for the community member.

🧥 Cool Jackets. These ones feature a main character wearing a cool jacket.

🍽️ Cafeterias. These ones have a memorable scene in a cafeteria.

Guess the movie based on the pictures below. This one’s tough, so I’ll clue you in. I chose this particular movie since it was directed by two brothers — not unlike tnmn.

👇 See the answer at the bottom of the email.

A spoiler-free description of the movie.

A woman who believes a dead composer is in love with her falls for a man who constantly fights an imaginary entity.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film.

▶ Quirky romance between two older mentally ill people. This is a pretty specific thing to like, you little freak! But we don’t shame anyone here at tnmn, so if you have this preference, this film won’t disappoint.

▶ When actors go for it. Nobody here is concerned about looking silly. James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave fully commit, mind and body, to the eccentric script that was handed to them.

▶ Cheeky James Earl Jones. He made me laugh harder than I have in recent memory with this performance. Except for the other day, when my four year old son referred to his balls as “penis boobs”. That was pretty funny.

What I liked about it.

Charles Burnett's The Annihilation of Fish has a history.

In 1999, it was acquired for distribution after debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival. But, after one single negative review from Variety, the company who purchased the rights cancelled its distribution. One bad review — and for nearly thirty years the film hasn’t been available to watch. No theatrical release. No VHS. No DVD, Blu-ray, TV, or streaming. Nothing.

However, in 2003, Burnett asked Milestone Films to acquire the rights for The Annihilation of Fish. Milestone had distributed Burnett’s previous films, Killer of Sheep and My Brother’s Wedding. And so, together, Burnett and his partners at Milestone went on a lengthy journey to restore the film and distribute it.

Prior to this, the film was cast aside. Abandoned. Discarded, not unlike the size medium shirts in my closet (don’t worry — I just bought a walking treadmill — so everything is fine), or the sorts of characters the film itself deals with. The restoration and distribution of the film this year is a triumph.

Charles Burnett’s nearly lost film is positively charming. It’s a demented romantic comedy that earnestly explores the sorts of people society desperately tries not to make eye contact with.

The sound and camera work is inventive, chock-full of flourishes that put you in the mindset of Burnett’s quirky lead characters. Like the more kinetic camera employed during the wrestling scenes, or the rustling of leaves every time James Earl Jones throws his imaginary demon out the window into the bushes.

Anthony C. Winkler’s script is notably compassionate in the way it treats its lead characters, their afflictions and their love story. There aren’t cheap shots here — the comedy is well-earned and we’re never laughing at the expense of the characters we’re supposed to care about.

James Earl Jones and Lynn Redgrave turn in unafraid performances, infused with equal parts soul and whimsy. They bring a ton of physicality to their roles, most notably during the plentiful wrestling matches between a sweaty James Earl Jones and thin air.

Much like the script, you can sense that Jones and Redgrave approached these characters with a genuine respect for their stories. These performances are as tender and sincere as they are hysterical.

All this together, and we’re gifted with a brilliant film that almost never saw the light of day. One that feels inexplicably entertaining, and deserving of the heaps of praise it’s been getting since being restored. Take that, Variety!

Enjoy the film.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ It took 19 years to make this happen. The journey included hundreds of phone calls, faxes, and emails to distributors, producers and heirs, archives, labs, lawyers, the US Treasury Department, and finally the US Bankruptcy Court for the State of California. After acquiring the rights for The Annihilation of Fish, Milestone Films spent six months battling a lab to get the master film materials transferred to the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

One great line of dialogue from the film.