The Saint Inspector (1996)

Pretty Good

Just perfect...

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

'The saint inspector' has a very good and original idea to begin with, and that is often half the 'work'. A fat, white, buddha-like, sleeping man is seated on a way up high pedestal and gets a visit from an inspector popping from a suitcase - presumably to be tested on his sainthood. The claymation is beautiful, precise and has character. I didn't care much for the added 'stripes' and a few changeovers were somewhat easy, but that's about it criticism-wise. Of course it is short, very short, but thoroughly enjoyable. An extra plus for the freaky, Primus-like music that the inspector listens to while doing his job. Will the fat man pass the holy test? Check this out and see for yourself.A big 8 out of 10.

Wow...this is one freakin' weird animated short. I mean REAALLLLYYY weird. But, in a good way. This is just one your need to see for yourself.The film is made using stop-motion and clay. It begins with a morbidly obese and naked man atop a platform in the middle of nowhere. He apparently is some sort of weird hermit--like Luis Buñuel's hermit from "Simón del Desierto" (SIMON OF THE DESERT). These weird hermits live atop these wooden platforms for years in order to mortify their body and prove their worthiness to God, though most would agree they are weirdos. Unlike the one from the Buñuel film, the guy in THE SAINT INSPECTOR is like a giant naked blob of goo...and he just lays there without moving or reacting at all.Eventually, an odd looking mechanical man arrives on the scene and begins poking and prodding the blob. This examination gets amazingly weird and you just have to see it to believe it.I could try to describe the film more, but frankly it defies description. This is just one of those off-beat and bizarre films you should see for yourself. It sure isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it and it had a weird sensibility about it that helps explain by it was nominated for a BAFTA award.

Like a good short film should, The Saint Inspector makes up for in quality what it loses in length. The narrative is deliciously one-dimensional and simple (there's a saint, there's a saint inspector: the latter inspects the first) but the visual flair and style and the overall impact are stunning. Psychedelics on celluloid! If you like: check out the feature-length "The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb" (1993) by the same production company.