Hello! Long time no review I know, have been watching movies constantly but this is the first time I’ve loved a movie so much that I couldn’t not review it. Quick disclaimer – this will just be a quick review as it’s 1am and I’ve literally just finished watching it but bear with me and I hope you enjoy (and watch the film!!!).
Okja is the second English-language feature (behind the thrillingly bizarre cult phenomenon Snowpiercer) from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, and has not been without its fair share of controversy. It screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival but, as a product of the streaming giant Netflix, was criticised by the judges for encouraging the demise of traditional cinema. Sorry to wade into a hotly debated area but to be honest I have to agree with Joon-ho and Netflix on this one, as Joon-ho had complete freedom to create a film about a controversial topic that would only have been diluted by big-budget film corporations, and the film industry needs to adapt to the current technological climate to an extent.
The film centres around Okja, an edible ‘super pig’ designed by the Mirando Corporation for profit, and Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), the granddaughter of the farmer appointed to raise her. Eventually, the time comes for Okja to be taken to New York and used as an advertising ploy for the company, who are masking a torrent of animal abuse behind the guise of competition, environmental sustainability and charisma, largely through the company’s CEO (played by the ever-wonderful Tilda Swinton) and a desperate, fame-hungry TV zoologist (Jake Gyllenhaal at his wackiest and most brilliant, is he having a bit of a moment currently or am I just that desperate for him to get an Oscar soon?). All is not lost for Okja’s life however, as the Animal Liberation Front (led by the fantastic Paul Dano) intervene in the proceedings.
Okja is a truly wonderful film. It is immensely heartfelt and has a few clear messages about exploitation and the terror of big business (what really goes on behind closed doors?), but places humour directly at its core. The film is visually stunning and well-directed, with the pace never lagging but still having the stability to savour key moments and further our emotional investment. The linguistic blend of South Korean and English was also refreshing to see in a film and could, potentially, pave the way for a greater acceptance of multilingualism in cinema – which can only be a good thing. The acting in this feature is phenomenal, with each actor playing up to a caricature (specifically Swinton as an unhinged heiress and Dano as an over-righteous activist) but the film never descends into pantomime territory, with each actor bringing just enough warmth and heart to humanise their characters. Seo-hyun too is a great source of emotional entanglement and the supporting actors appear to understand the wackiness of Joon-ho’s filmmaking but have enough appreciation for the story at hand to keep the slapstick to a minimum.
Okja is a wholly unique film, with only vague vibes of the Japanese animated classic My Neighbour Totoro, and is an exciting foray into a new generation of filmmaking that takes advantage of new media platforms to explore taboo subjects. I would recommend this film to anybody, for different reasons, and I believe there is something in this film that will enthrall anyone – be it the story, cinematography, acting, peculiarity or various plot twists and turns.
I’m going to give Okja a five out of five popcorns! Apologies if this review was fairly one-sided, I did try to find faults in it but honestly its exactly the kind of bizarre movie I love and I was enchanted from the moment I turned it on. I genuinely had no interest in watching it before it popped up on my Netflix tonight, but I couldn’t turn it off from literally the second it began.
Thank you for reading!
(Photo via JoBlo.com)
Girl with the Popcorn 