Narco Saints
Narco Saints: An ordinary businessman finds himself involved in an important government secret mission. Objective: to catch a Korean narco boss operating in South America ...
By now we know: after Bong Joon-ho's multi-oscarized Parasite and after the cult TV series Squid Game, whenever a new production from South Korea is announced it's worth prying your ears and paying attention to. What we see today on our small or large screens is the result of an articulated work, a direct consequence of what they call Hallyu at home, that is, the increase in the global spread of Korean mass culture that has occurred since the 1990s.
It is no longer necessary to be original, the important thing is to be convincing: Narco Saints - a miniseries in 6 episodes, available on Netflix from 9 September - shows its derivative nature right from the title, and would have no reason to hide it. The word "narco" has been around for a long time but, in recent years, thanks above all to the success of Narcos and Narcos: Mexico, it has become synonymous with two things: more or less true stories about drug kings and distribution on an online platform (brand of guarantee and continuity, for lovers of the sub-genre).
Narco Saints: inside the world of the drug cartel
More war between gangs and more drug trafficking, therefore, with the addition of an anomalous religious component. The series begins with the story of the protagonist Kang In-gu, a businessman who saw his father work until his death. In-gu risks doing the same, trying to run a karaoke bar and a garage to support his wife and two children. All this until his best friend Eung-soo offers him a job opportunity in Suriname, with the mirage of a huge profit.
Inevitably, things will not go as planned: In-gu will find himself immersed in a criminal undergrowth bigger than himself, grappling with an undercover operation on behalf of the secret services. Objective: to capture the dangerous boss Jeon Yo-hwan (played by star Hwang Jung-min, a regular presence in quality Korean cinema), a drug lord who has taken control of the South American state. He is the "narco saint" of the title, revered and feared by local criminals as a god.
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| Narco Saints/Netflix |
Narco Saints: between drug addiction and religion (on a tropical background)
Perfect operation for binge-watching, with episodes lasting about an hour that close promptly with tantalizing "hooks" for watching the next episode, Narco Saints proceeds along very standardized and familiar lines. There are close-quarters, shootings, grisly murders, and double-edged attempts that invariably turn out to be double-edged weapons. There are lush seashore views (although Suriname remains a kind of two-dimensional postcard backdrop), opposing factions chasing each other, quirky hit men, and lots of… white powder stuffed into clear packages.
Narco Saints possesses, in a professional and passionate way, everything that can be expected from a series whose premise is that of drug trafficking with a tropical background. Between the lines, for the more attentive, however, there is also an anomalous element, which undermines the predictability of the story: this is not a show that deals with religion in a superficial way.
Faith is quite an integral part, of the way Jeon uses sacred rhetoric to gain followers and justify his actions. It is probably no coincidence that the series draws an explicit parallel between devotion and drug addiction. Are Jeon's followers true believers or are they just looking for their next fix? After all, is there really any difference?