Okja

A teenage girl wants nothing more than to remain with her lifelong pet and companion – the super pig Okja – in Korean auteur Bong Joon- ho's latest film. Everything else is just stuff that gets in the way.

Bong delivers one of Netflix's better high profile original films in "Okja," a quirky yet topical yet big-hearted film. Similar to Bong's 2006 breakout film "The Host," a monster movie about a doltish dad who will do anything to rescue his daughter, "Okja" plays to family themes (a girl and her pet) but presents them through a mature, adult lens (corporate greed, environmentalism, genetic science).

So the context of "Okja" is complicated, but the story is quite simple and human. 14-year-old Mija (An Seo-hyun) has lived with her grandfather on a mountainside farm in South Korea for most of her life with Okja, a super pig gifted to the farm by Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) and the Mirando Corporation as part of a competition to develop the pigs as a non-GMO food source to help fight hunger. When the corporation and super pig judge Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal) come to collect, Okja is clearly the finest of the super pigs in the world, and they endeavor to take her to New York City. Mija follows them to Seoul and attempts to get her friend back, coming up against the corporation and a group of animal rights activists, all of which have different agendas for Okja.

Hilarious and deeply disturbing, violent but also quite warm, Bong has created another distinctive film that makes him one of the most interesting filmmakers that not enough people are talking about. The mixed bag of tones will certainly turn off viewers who aren't sure what to do with a film that doesn't fit in any one neatly labeled genre box, those with an open mind will appreciate the way he tells extremely accessible stories that address complicated themes.

Okja means a lot of things to a lot of people: friendship and stability to Mija; money, science and reputation to the Mirando Corporation; injustice and corporate greed to the animal liberation group; and affordable food to the masses. The plot is essentially these competing interests sorting themselves out.

Part of what makes "Okja" distinctive is the caricaturized supporting roles that make everything feel just a shade unusual. As she did in Bong's last film, "Snowpiercer," Swinton so effortlessly creates a wildly larger than life character portrait that simultaneously feels grounded in reality. Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, is infuriatingly grating as the eccentric loose cannon TV personality, but his character is a signal to the audience of how to look at and think of the world of the film.

Bong has such a specific perspective on society that comes through in way subtle and not in "Okja." He brilliantly whittles the story down to one pivotal moment at the end, and the outcome of all this chaos suggests he's neither pessimistic nor optimistic. Perhaps he would argue that it's not his business to come down one way or another, but simply to use a giant hippo-like pig to at least prove that our world is majorly – and maybe unnecessarily – complicated

~Steven C

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Okja is a sort of scifi fairytale, one that is explicit with its very simple messaging but is nevertheless beautiful and heart wrenching.

Bong Joon-ho begins the film in 2007 when the CEO of a food corporation that is heavily invested with GMO's tries to revamp their corporate image by announcing a competition between 26 of their best super piglets. The super piglets are sent across the world to be raised by farmers and in ten years one lucky pig will win the title of Best Super Pig (and then apparently be consumed). Fast forward to 10 years later when a thirteen year old Mija, a country girl living in near isolation with her grandfather, is raising her super pig in the idyllic landscape where they play, forage for apples, and fish together. Things go awry however when she discovers that Okja (her pig) does not belong to her and will be carted off to America. From here on the movie turns into an adventure story as Mija must brave the world in order to be reunited with Okja.

The film is wildly cartoonish in tone, but if you go along with it and let yourself be enchanted by this world you'll find yourself on a wonderful emotional journey. Some cheap CGI made me at first scoff at Okja, but as the movie goes on she seems more and more real till by the end I was near tears watching the film. Great performances by known and unknown actors alike. Just a great movie through and through.

Full disclaimer; I am a vegetarian, so I was always going to be sympathetic to the message of this film. And while some would argue, perhaps correctly in most cases, that the medium IS the message, it doesn't always hold that a noble sentiment translates into a well made film. Thankfully this is not the case here.

A whirlwind mash of genres (part heist movie; part buddy comedy; part activist polemic) Okja is a beautifully executed interweaving of the complex and deep relationship between humanity and the other animals that inhabit our planet. Despite (obviously) heavy use of CGI for Okja herself, the Super Pig's presence is (mostly) seamless with the rest of the environment, and its convincing and moving interactions with the rest of the cast, not least a starring performance from young Seo Hyun as Mija, were enough to move me to tears more than once.

At no point does the film verge into 'preachiness', however, nor wander into grisly animal-rights documentary territory. It achieves this through interspersing some nicely shot action scenes with the odd absurdist comic line, before, towards the end of the film, revealing in jarring and emotional fashion the logical consequence of mass, production-line slaughter. And that really is the main takeaway from the film; not that MEAT=BAD, but rather that the industrialised killing our profit-driven society has allowed to develop is an unbearable and heartbreaking infringement of the rights of the living beings with which we must share our earth.

Perhaps the only reservation is Jake Gyllenhaal's bizarre performance as Johnny Wilcox. I personally didn't have that much of a problem with it, although can see why the OTT nature of it might pull one out of the film on occasion. Nonetheless, Okja is a film bold in its scale and confident in its message. At once gentle and brutal; funny and poignant, I really can't give this film any more praise without it sounding like I'm a Netflix plant. Highly recommended, whatever you choose to put on your plate...

Much like the concept behind Pink Floyd's "Animals" album, and with the great choice of music throughout this unsung gem, I was just waiting for the Song "Pigs" to start playing in the one of the scenes.

This film has great production, Acting and covers the rampant corruptness in many of our cultural accepted norms. (even the "Animal Liberation Front" shows some corruption, patterned obviously after PETA)

Great Film, Well done. (NETFLIX is competing with the big boys at a fraction of the cost) Glad to see films like this finding the light of day.

Go See It, especially if you are a animal lover and/or sympathizer

Exciting and excellent film. I was looking forward to this movie and the truth, it was so cute. An excellent cast that meets and each acted excellent. The story so exciting, This film is the real love between a person and an animal. From the beginning to the end she kept me entertained to the screen. Of the best films of the year. Do not miss the post-credits scene. wonderful