Okja (2017) (English & Korean Language)

Review

118min

Genre:       Adventure, Drama, Sci-fi

Director:    Bong Joon-Ho

Cast:         Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano…and more

Writers:     Bong Joon-Ho and Jon Ronson

-Synopsis-

Netflix’s latest original film follows the misadventures of rural South Korean teenager ‘Mija’, who embarks on a globe-trotting mission and joins forces with a seditious group to prevent a multinational corporation from taking and exploiting her best friend—a giant creature name ‘Okja’.

After impressing with a string of movies over the last couple of years, which include the harrowing child-soldier drama ‘Beasts of no Nation’ and political/war satire ‘War Machine’, the streaming giant continues its march to shake up the film business by infiltrating Cannes in May and now finally releasing the latest ‘Netflix Original Film’—securing the vision of South Korean writer/director Bong Joon-Ho (Mother, Snowpiercer) and an impressive ensemble cast for this creaturetastic environmentalist adventure and dark satire about corporatisation, and the complex relationship between man and beast. . . in this de facto vegan fable.

Young Ahn Seo-hyun stars as South Korean teen Mija, living a quiet rural life in the mountains of Sanyang with her best friend and giant super-pig Okja—but both their lives are turned upside down by the visit of washed-up and colourful American wildlife TV presenter ‘Johnny Wilcox’ (Jake Gyllenhaal), looking to reclaim Okja for agro-chemical conglomerate the ‘Mirando’ corporation and their self-styled CEO ‘Lucy Mirando’ (Tilda Swinton), who bred the wondrous creature. What follows is a trans-Pacific adventure as Mija seeks to try and rescue her friend—with the help of radical environmentalists led by the enigmatic ‘Jay’ (Paul Dano)—from being a showpiece for Mirando’s global plans, but learns a few harsh lessons about globalisation and the modern world along the way.

Right off the bat it’s important to state just how much conviction ‘Okja’ has to its cause and how unapologetically preachy it inevitably is, with no qualms about making you feel bad about your lifestyle and eating habits—but it’s nowhere near powerful enough to make audiences change them, although it might make you think twice before munching on your next bacon sandwich. For the oh so easily offended or resentful about the questioning of their lifestyle, one either side of the socio/political aisle, the film might be hard to swallow, but for the more open-minded Bong Joon-Ho cleverly and quirkily balances a family adventure and a dark and cutting social satire with plenty of food-for-thought (pun intended)—albeit from a pervasive and conveniently naive anti-capitalist perspective.

At first glance it’s easy to see where some of the cinematic inspiration for ‘Okja’ may have come from, stylistically and thematically sitting between a Tim Burton and a Wes Anderson production, featuring the familiar paradigm of a child who develops an unbreakable bond with a creature—in this case a slightly anthropomorphised Hippopotamus-like giant pig—and tries to protect it from persecution, as seen in films like the recent ‘Pete’s Dragon’ and of course inspired by the pillar of the sub-genre ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’.

Yet the combination of themes and tonal shifts makes ‘Okja’ a unique film where Bong Joon-Ho’s filmmaking sensibilities shine through, and yet another ballsy proposition from Netflix the movie-makers—tackling heady social issues like globalisation, society’s treatment of animals and industrial farming, and taking square aim corporate greed and media irresponsibility in a not-so-subtle dig at giants like Monsanto and other agrochemical companies who effectively control the world’s food supply. The film often plays like absurdist dark satire, idiosyncratic and often madcap, but then takes a sobering turn in the third act—from subversive farcical satire and quirky humour with a hint of the magical, to a deep dark plunge into the recesses of modern human living.

Young but already experienced South Korean actress Ahn Seo-hyun shines as the film’s emotional heart Mija, flanked by an impressive cast of top-notch talent led by the resplendent Tilda Swinton in another quirky role, pulling double-duty as two very different twin Mirando CEOs, while Jake Gyllenhaal delivers his most flamboyant performance to date, straddling the line between tragically ridiculous and glorious. All of them revolve around the titular CGI star of the show Okja herself, the genetic super-pig with a distinct Hippo aesthetic  which—in the ‘E.T.’ tradition—just about does enough to makes us care about a rough-skinned imaginary creature.

‘Okja’ also boasts some vivid visuals captured by veteran Iranian cinematographer Darius Khondji (Se7en, The Lost City of Z), including some gripping chases through the streets of Seoul and New York and the beautiful mountain landscapes of South Korea, and the film is given further drive and character by its eclectic score and soundtrack, featuring everything from recognisable pop tunes and two-step rhythms to polka and tango compositions.

In spite of its fearlessness and endearing quirks, ‘Okja’ is hardly a game-changing masterpiece, too schizophrenic in narrative and nowhere near powerful and gripping enough—in terms of its message and execution—to make have a lasting social effect or leave an indelible impression, and despite its idiosyncrasies it’s really not all that weird.

Ultimately it comes from a perspective which is fancifully idealistic at best, pandering to a naive and convenient anti-capitalist world view and trying to revise millennia of man’s complex relationship with animal kind for a 21st century ‘meat is murder’ crowd. Yet Ahn Seo-hyun makes plenty of pertinent points about animal welfare and global corporatisation’s hijacking of our consumption habits (and our entire lives), doing so in a well-crafted, entertaining and engaging way—further proving Netflix’s commitment to making films with healthy but modest budgets, which both entertain and provoke thought in equal measure.

The Bottom Line . . .

Idealistic and militant to a fault, ‘Okja’ might be slightly naive in its core message but it’s passionate and unapologetic in delivering it in unconventional and thought-provoking fashion. This quirky and unique dark social satire and wacky family drama, with plenty of creature cuteness, will entertain and captivate throughout while bringing Bong Joon-Ho’s filmmaking vision to the widest possible audience, and proving Netflix’s chops as a daring and ambitious film studio.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Pete’s Dragon (2016)

Disney’s 21st century re-imagining of its own classic family film recounting the story of ‘Pete’; a young orphan boy who’s thrown back into civilisation after living wild in a North American forest for six years, surviving and thriving with the help of his best friend who happens to be an elusive magical dragon named ‘Elliot’, himself now threatened by the locals after his existence is revealed.

Directed by David Lowery and starring Oakes Fegley, Bryce Dallas Howard and Robert Redford among others.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.