Available to stream on Darkroom
Aachi and Ssipak is one of those strange, animated works that needs to be seen to be believed. If it’s even remotely possible to say this movie is a product born from visual tropes popularized by other works, like Ren and Stimpy meets South Park, then that’s this bizarre South Korean work in a nutshell. It won’t be for everyone either, due to its very adult content; but it’s available to screen on Darkroom, a streaming platform that’s building a solid reputation as a place for the bizarre and underappreciated.
For a film that’s totally whacked out, the concept is actually quite novel. Whether there’s any truth to turning methane into fuel has been the subject of speculation for some time. What’s explored here is less about the science and more about how dystopian things can become if governments and private industries get their way. In a localized part of the world where human excrement is the city’s only source of energy, the keepers reward citizens with addictive “Hard” popsicles for keeping the supply flowing.
Aachi (Ryu Seung-beom) and Ssipak (Lim Chang-jung) are two hustlers just trying to make a living when they cross paths with Ippunyi (Hyun Young), a woman whose extraordinary ability to produce the precious commodity with a very specific chemical structure makes her a walking gold mine. When Ssipak becomes smitten, their antics and newfound fortune quickly attract the attention of the violent Diaper Gang (and no, they are not Smurfs), while the government sends its ruthless cyborg police to clean up the mess.
If this film is starting to sound like Akira, there are probably one or two seeds embedded within it. What happens is a gloriously vulgar, hyperactive collision of action, science fiction, and black comedy as the trio find themselves caught in the middle of a very strange battle for the future of Shit City. And yes, there’s an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom style moment that makes the watch worthwhile. When the former looks like Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory and the latter looks as though he dematerialized from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, the similarities are unmistakable! While they’re nothing like their American counterparts, what they represent is still very punk.
Jo Beom-jin’s film was originally released in 2006, and it has been out of circulation for a long time. While I can say that this work has a very crass animation style, the fact that it has a following and has been remastered for its 20th anniversary says more than anything else. The 2K cleanup looks very clean and crisp. Also, the CGI actually holds up, even though this work debuted back when digital was making waves in the production pipeline. Some backgrounds are obvious and others not.
And for those animation enthusiasts who love the manic action that FLCL made famous once upon a time, this rollicking, over-the-top action may well get a few viewers reaching for the other work to watch. At least Kazuya Tsurumaki’s take spans a few episodes to develop the relationships in more than just a film. Whichever manic work is worth watching more, that depends on what’s your poison, and this film is no holds barred when showing the outcome.
3½ Stars out of 5
Aachi and Ssipak Trailer
