The King of Pigs

THE KING OF PIGS is a darker-than-dark South Korean anime detailing that country's social hierarchy and its effect on bullying in high schools. It's an extremely depressing piece of film-making, with no happy endings or answers to the many questions posed throughout; at the same time, it's rather a profound piece of work, and one which pays off as completely rewarding to the viewer who invests his or her time in it.

The story is a straightforward, high school-themed tale about a couple of poor kids who find themselves victimised by the rich older students. Into the chaos comes Chul, a guy who believes that one should become a monster in order to take down the bigger monsters. What transpires is never less than gripping, as it involves you in an increasingly dark and twisted tale.

I wasn't too fond of the basic animation here, although it brings favourably to mind the likes of ANIMAL FARM (and LORD OF THE FLIES is an obvious precursor to this story). The voice acting is also a little shrill for my tastes, but despite all this, THE KING OF PIGS is electrifying viewing thanks to the compelling, unique storytelling.

I really like realistic animation films so I really wanted to like this movie but it is just not really worth your time.

The movie's story is about two boys and their experience with bullying during their middle school days. The movie starts from the present when they are adults and uses flashbacks tell the story switching back and forth to break up the film into segments. The movie tackles hard real life issues like bullying in schools and system of inequalities and favoritism in the Korean society.

However the problem with the movie is that it is very derivative of better films like "Friend" and does not present anything new enough to stand out on it's own. The only unique aspect of the movie is the fact that it's an animation but it is clear that the reason this movie is an animation is because of costs. The animation quality is poor and what's worse is the poor voice recording in the film. The sound would often clip causing a lot of distortion in dialogue because they use such poor equipment to record the voice overs. Overall it does not do enough to impress in either the visuals or story and personally I would not recommend watching this film.

Serious animation is no longer a novelty but the bleakness of this Korean toon is disturbing.

Leaving a girl with a rope mark on her neck, the bespectacled lead 'phones the old school pal, who is having domestic troubles of his own. During their night drinking and walking together, we see flashbacks to their school days, where they were at the bottom layer of a brutal system of bullying.

The director's first feature is done with limited movement and only occasional flashes of striking imagery - the animal headed class mates, the ugly ghost cat, simulated afternoon light. Using female voices for the boys is also alienating. The film is so intense that viewers are likely to forget the exposition and find themselves unsatisfied by the rapid wind-up.

Think of this as a curious companion to the similarly themed OLD BOY and part of the country's ultra-violence cycle, among which it is a stand out.

I have been disappointed by some of the more recent Korean films that promise to lead the audience into deep dark psychological realms but deliver only rather trite and confusing plots even if the cinematography and acting were stunning.

After being almost overwhelmed towards the conclusion of this animation, I believe that the spirit of Korean cinematic honesty, confrontation, complex psychegeography lives on in works like King of Pigs.

I won't go into the story - the plot is straightforward enough: bullying, high school hell, the sickness of a society based on hierarchy and class, corruption of the system...but the delivery of the narrative gets under your skin in completely original, unexpected ways.

The end twist is utter believable, and delivers a double whammy, so stay glued to your seat.

I can't understand some of the low ratings, though many might find this very difficult to watch due to the horrors depicted. It wasn't an easy film to sit through, but it is worth every effort to do so.

This is the best movie about bullying that has ever been made by most chances. It makes you take a hard look at how powerful and delicate at the same time our minds are, especially those of kids. How they are shaped by their family and its problems, and by the hierarchies built in school; by the repression, inequality and unfairness. With the prohibition of expressiveness (depression), how far can a human go?