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Jun 28, 2017 · These are some of the questions that are posed by Netflix’s latest original movie, Okja. ... we need to more carefully explore how sustainability functions as an ethical and political ideal.
May 19, 2017 · A rollicking rescue movie with deep ache and hope in its heart, Okja feels like just the right story for this grim political moment. It’s something of a clarion call to those resisting the creep ...
Sep 22, 2022 · But it is not a political movie, nor it is a manifesto for vegetarianism (even if a particularly emotional sequence set in a pigs’ slaughterhouse will have some people think about that too). Okja is simply a little story about the friendship between a girl and an animal, and her desire to save his friend from a tragic fate. It is also a ...
- This story about a young girl and her best friend takes some startling political and emotional turns.
- Verdict
By Alex Welch
Posted: Jun 29, 2017 1:00 am
Okja is now streaming on Netflix and playing in select iPic theaters In New York and Los Angeles.
There is no other filmmaker working today like Bong Joon Ho. Through his past efforts, the South Korean writer and director has managed to deliver stories on a consistent basis that are often equal parts entertaining action adventures and social political satires. It’s not just that very few filmmakers have ever managed to so successfully walk the kind of chaotic tonal tightrope than Joon Ho has with say 2006’s The Host or 2014’s Snowpiercer, but very few filmmakers would ever dare try to. There’s a magic at the heart of each of Joon Ho’s films for that very reason, though, which makes it hard not to get caught up in the sheer talent and enthusiasm that he brings to each and every single one of his movies, and his latest film, Okja, is no exception.
The movie begins in an alternate version of our own world, circa 2007, when the Mirando Corporation claims to have discovered a new breed of “super pig." It will provide more meat to society than any other animal in the world, while also making the smallest impact on the environment. Led by Tilda Swinton’s always-smiling and villainous Lucy Mirando, the corporation claims that in order to breed enough of the super pigs naturally, they will begin by giving one super pig to ten different farmers around the world, who will have ten years to help their pig grow as big as it can possibly get, and whichever farmer grows the biggest pig will be selected as the grand prize winner.
So cut to ten years later, in the mountains of South Korea and a young girl named Mija (An Seo Hyun) is living with Okja, the titular super pig whom her grandfather was originally given, and who also happens to be her best friend. Unfortunately, their time together is cut short by the arrival of Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal, in one of the genuinely weirdest and strangely entertaining performances I've ever seen), a mustachioed, jean short-wearing TV personality and “animal lover” who’s also the spokesperson for the Mirando super pig contest. He quickly names Okja to be the biggest super pig of them all, and takes her away to New York, where she will be killed and her food will then be processed to be eaten by citizens everywhere. Of course, Mija won’t stand for this, and quickly races after Okja and the Mirando Corporation to save her best friend before it’s too late.
Okja has its fair share of pacing and tonal issues, but is otherwise so technically well-crafted and entertaining throughout that it’s still one of this season’s most worthwhile endeavors. (It also has maybe the best after-credits scene of any movie this year.)
- Alex Welch
Jun 28, 2017 · 7 min read. “Okja” is the heartwarming tale of a girl and her giant mutant pig, brought to life through a mix of digital effects and puppetry that makes a nonexistent beast seem as real as E.T. or King Kong. It is also the tale of animal rights activists doing battle with a Monsanto-like corporation that wants to turn said pig, allegedly ...
Okja (/ ˈ oʊ k dʒ ə /; Korean: 옥자) is a 2017 science-fantasy action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon-ho with a screenplay by Bong and Jon Ronson from a story by Bong. The film is about a young girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Okja), and, after she is taken to the United States, goes on a mission to rescue her from mistreatment at the hands of the meat ...
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Feb 20, 2024 · The movie, by director Bong Joon-ho, debuted on Netflix five years ago. Menu. Retrospective. ... There may be no deliberate attempt at a political message in Okja. Still, the film deploys a ...
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