Okja Review
Who would have expected the film that reportedly turned many viewers vegetarian and vegan, would be a fantasy film about a CGI superpig? Not many directors could pull this off, but Bong Joon-ho shows Hollywood how it’s done.
The superpig is raised by a farmer and his granddaughter, Mija (played by Ahn Seo-hyun). When the Mirando Corporation — who’re looking to profit from these superpigs by selling their meat — take Okja away, Mija chases them so that she can bring Okja home. The relationship between these two characters is beautiful to watch. From their joyous, playful daily adventures in the South Korean jungle, to Okja saving Mija’s life, to Mija’s determination to save the gentle and kind animal.
While chasing the Mirando Corporation, Mija comes across members from the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), an animal-rights activist group, who had also set out to save Okja — and all other superpigs being used, abused and killed. Although Mija decides she’d rather take Okja home with her, a member of the ALF, K (played by Steven Yeun) translates her words incorrectly, claiming she said she’ll join the cause and let the corporation take Okja in order to save all superpigs.
As CEO of Mirando Corporation, Lucy Mirando (played by Tilda Swinton) begins to panic that Mija and the ALF will ruin her superpig plan, she decides to use Mija and Okja as tools in her PR campaign. They are to reunite at the superpig launch parade. But that’s not before Okja is forced into an abrasive mating ritual with a larger superpig, and tortured by the deranged zoologist, Johnny Wilcox (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).
As much as you despise Mirando and Wilcox, you can’t help but be intrigued by the characters. They’re evil, but they’re eccentric. Somehow they’ve convinced themselves that what they’re doing isn’t bad, but in fact necessary. It’s credit to Swinton and Gyllenhaal who play these roles fantastically.
Following the parade, Mija and ALF do team up, after Okja is taken once again. They end up at the superpig slaughter farm, where Mija — as well as us, the audience — are exposed to the cruel and inhumane way these helpless animals are treated. They’re killed without a second thought, one after another. Perhaps the most harrowing part of this movie is when we see a couple of superpigs rally together to push a baby superpig out of the pen and into the path of Mija in the hope she can stop it from being killed for meat and live a better life.
The film may or may not have a happy ending. In fact the twists and turns that occur throughout the entire movie have you wondering right until the very end which way this story will end. But what is clear, is that slaughter farms and houses such as this one, aren’t fantasy, they’re real. This is how pigs, cows, chickens, and other defenceless animals are treated all over the world.
The film is a true masterpiece. It’s colourful, it’s fun, it’s full of action and adventure, but it’s also upsetting, for the right reason. Documentaries don’t always resonate with people who have become desensitised to the reality of where their food comes from. But perhaps the heart-warming story of a girl and her pig, will.
Hannah Parker
