Hot Docs 2018: Mr Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End

Pablo Bryant begins his documentary with two clear defenses of free speech. This first is a title card that overtly warns the spectator that this is a free speech area, and the second is a story related to the camera by the subject of the film: cartoonist Mr. Fish. The story he tells involves himself, as a child, writing obscenities on paper airplanes and fantasizing about fighting the system when it was discovered that he was the author. Of course, he just got reprimanded by his mom.

Mr. Fish is a fascinating subject for a documentary. He’s an iconoclastic offender without care or remorse for where he points his cross hairs. His aim is deadly, and his artistic skill deft. He offends the Right and the Left indiscriminately, and almost seems proud of the fact that his notoriety makes earning a consistent paycheck a real difficulty.

Mr. Fish: Cartooning from…