The year is 2007 and Lucy Mirando has overtaken her family's large livestock company known as the Mirando Corporation. Lucy desires to restore the corporation's image in the wake of the disreputable one put forth by her father and twin sister, so she announces the implementation of a Super Pig project as a means of revolutionizing the food industry. Essentially, the Miranda Corporation has "naturally bred" a special super pig and distributed twenty six super piglets to be raised by farmers all across the world for a competition. Ten years later, Okja accompanies Mija, a young South Korean girl who lives with her grandfather in the mountainous rainforest area as a committed caretaker and steadfast companion to one of the super pigs she's affectionately named Okja. When the Miranda Corporation takes Okja away, Mija embarks on an insane adventure to rescue her best friend by any means necessary.
Okja is an original Netflix production written and directed by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. The film made a substantial debut at last year's Cannes Film Festival and was later released that summer in select theaters as well as the esteemed streaming service to widespread critical acclaim. I've heard a lot online about Netflix's marvelous motion pigture since its late June debut, but only got around to watching it earlier today due to Houston's icy roads and school closures. As a massive fan of Joon-ho's work on Snowpiercer, I was quite excited to see what he'd do with Okja.
Thankfully, Joon-ho delivers by telling a sweet story about a young girl and her genetically engineered super pig. Everyday stuff, right? Not quite what you'd see on a regular basis in your day-to-day life, but fascinating nonetheless. Despite some unnecessary poo jokes, I did find Okja to be a quirky, enjoyable watch. I think parents should be forewarned that despite the kid-friendly look of Okja, the film's a little liberal with the F-bomb and other curse words. So just know when perusing through Netflix that this probably isn't the best thing for your kid to be watching. While the script penned by Joon-ho and Jon Ronson revolves around an unconventional friendship, there are relatable subtexts to be found regarding corporate greed, animal cruelty, the ethics behind food production, and public relations.
Although Okja's themes held the potential to compromise the narrative in favor of presenting a PETA PSA, Joon-ho and Ronson point to the extremes of each ideology and suggests neither side of this disputed topic is morally resolute (even though the the film's clearly against animal cruelty and processed food). Mija has no agenda in the story beyond an overwhelming urge to save her friend, and I think that's precisely why Okja functions so well as social commentary on corporate ethics. If Mija was firmly against corporations from the start rather than standing in as an unbiased lens to tell this story through, the messages would have come across as heavy-handed and overbearing.
Joon-ho and Ronson wisely gravitated towards Mija's purity as a protagonist to fairly communicate their ideas, and I was quite appreciative of that since it made the film more enjoyable to watch. The film's also bristling with beautiful imagery from cinematographer Darius Khondji and Jaeil Jung's musical score was especially pleasant to hear as an illustrious accompaniment to the film's outrageous ongoing events. Okja also partakes in the one of the most peculiar film trends from 2017 by prominently featuring a song from John Denver. From what I've seen, the list currently includes Free Fire, Alien: Covenant, Logan Lucky, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and now Okja.
At the center of it all is the benevolent friendship between Mija and Okja. Just on the cusp of looking believable, the visual effects used to create Okja are immensely impressive. I say so with a bit of apprehension because Okja didn't fully function as an authentic animal for me the ENTIRE time I was watching. That's not to say that the vfx are shabby at all because I truly thought they were terrific, but I do think Okja does appear to be a distinct digital creation in certain moments. It goes without saying though that Okja would not have worked as a visual effect if it weren't for an actress who could convincingly act alongside a CG-rendered creature, which Okja has with An Seo Hyun.
Hyun skillfully captures Mija's innocence while conveying an underlying tenacity and fierce determination in her pursuit of Okja. Hyun has primarily worked in the space of Korean film and television, but I think her impressive acting in Okja may enable her to find success in other markets. Although she scarcely spoke English, I can picture American audiences warming up to her for whatever reason. Random, I know, but somewhat relevant to the review I suppose.
Despite focusing around a genetically modified super pig, Okja is not a prime example of cinematic swine. Okja instead exemplifies the value of focusing a story on character and sentiment rather than piggybacking an obvious agenda.
