Event

SLIFF - Asura

Asura

Keiichi Sato, Japan, 2012, 76 min., Japanese

Friday, Nov. 16, Midnight, Hi-Pointe

In mid-15th century Japan, flood, drought, and famine transformed the landscape of the capital of Kyoto into a barren wasteland. More than 80,000 perished in the three years between 1459 and 1461. This desolate state served as the backdrop to the beginning of the country's greatest civil war, and the victims of this dark period in Japan's history were too great in number to include in the pages of history. This stunningly gorgeous animated film is set during this troubled era, and its eponymous hero grows up a savage, enraged orphan. Asura does whatever it takes to survive in the wild, but when he crosses paths with civilization, he must learn to tame the beast within. Although a film of unrelenting and violent horror, "Asura" also features a deeply religious core.