31 July 2017 | Platypuschow

6 | Saibi: Hard hitting and bleak

This South Korean anime does not make for easy viewing, it's dark, depressing and bleak yet at the very same time has moments of pure genius.



Telling the story of a man newly out of prison who returns home to discover his town are under the spell of a corrupt pastor and are being financially milked dry by them.



Is this the hero the town needs though? Absolutely not. In fact herein lies the films biggest issue, there are no likable characters throughout. From a drunk woman beater to a conman to a pedophile all flanked by an army of brainwashed gullible fools. So we find ourselves watching a film with nobody to root for, nobody to get behind.



The movies portrayal of religion is perfect and quite inspired, it identifies how it gets under peoples skin with promises of great things yet identifies the damage it does while those peddling the fictional wares reap the benefits.



You don't expect anything from Korea to be cheery and this sure as hell isn't, but it's watchable and quite gripping especially near the end.