Okja

7/8/2017

B
3.11

A genetically-modified super-pig and its human best friend struggle to return to their South Korean home.

Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Starring Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, and Paul Dano
Initial review by Jon Kissel

Bong Joon-ho vacillates between the recognizable (Memories of Murder, Mother) and the bonkers (Snowpiercer, Okja), and he excels at both. No matter the tone, he always leaves viewers pondering the events of his film and the broader implications. His latest, Okja, might on its surface be about a girl and her super-pig, but like Snowpiercer, it has big existential ideas on its mind. Shane, Blair, and I talked for a very long time about it in a podcast review. While I appreciate any film that prompts me to talk excitedly for more than an hour, Okja is still tonally all over the place. It also teases an airtight plot in its bravura first hour before jettisoning characters that ultimately have no impact on the final scenes. This isn't Bong's best movie, and is probably his worst. However, when a director's worst movie is at a B, he's doing a lot of things right.

16 Comments

Admin

7/9/2017 04:49:52 pm

For direct response to the Pod

Sean

7/10/2017 11:50:29 am

Jon used a lot of words to simply say "an elephant never forgets"

7/10/2017 12:12:13 pm

I've seen the selfie death clickbait too Shane

Shane

7/10/2017 04:19:40 pm

We have some weird Facebook friends and/or spend too much time on Ranker.

7/12/2017 01:10:18 pm

I love all those clickbait lists, I just wish Chrome offered a plugin that let you get through them without clicking next page over and over.

Bobby

7/9/2017 06:03:40 pm

Lucy Mirando's intro made me think I was in for some sort of incredibly over the top fun adventure with a CGI super pig... And then 10 years later I'm watching Okja the super super pig problem solve how to save her best friend from certain death beyond the cliff. While I can often appreciate a film having distinct tones in separate phases throughout the movie, it felt slightly off here and kept Okja from being a really phenomenal movie.

Really though, beyond the movie being slightly confused in that aspect, I really enjoyed Okja. While I'm sympathetic to ALF's cause against animal cruelty and experimentation (although they were a part of that confused tone), I wasn't too invested in any message against GM foods and Mirando's pretty clear representation of certain large biotech agricultural corporation. What I was interested in was Okja and the people involved, which worked for me. None more than Mija and her coming of age tale in her quest to save her friend (thoughts of The Protector, with far fewer bone bones and the like)

Among a world of hit or miss child performances in movies, Seo-hyun's is an absolutely knock-out. I never felt distracted or taken out of a scene, which is something I always worry about with young actors. On the contrary, Seo-hyun really projected her emotions and I felt a real connect with her and Okja throughout. I think it's also important to note the performance of Paul Dano. We already know he's a great actor, and he was as fantastic as ever here.

The super pig, Okja, was pretty great to. The CGI work was really impressive. Everything made her feel real and a true part of what was going on, especially the scenes in the mountains. Little things, such as her slipping into the puddle while begging for a persimmon, made a huge impact on the immersion value.

Overall, Okja is a tremendously enjoyable movie.. controversy be dammed. I actually wouldn't mind seeing it on the big screen with how well the visuals looked on my TV. I was totally on board with Okja as a character, and would totally spend a solid gold pig on a pet who was that well behaved, resilient, caring, and intelligent. Although, I have to say... for animals that can figure out such things as the rope and cliff, and have the awareness to help their baby escape when they see another going free, you'd think the combined intelligence of all those huge and durable animals could mount some kind of uprising. But I suppose that would be a totally different movie!

Anyway, solid B for Okja!

Bryan

7/10/2017 10:25:58 am

My current love in cinema is original stories and Okja fits the bill. An eccentric CEO and an endearing super pig, what more could you want? The CGI was on point and mocking the guy who refuses to eat was great. The corporate police state at the end of the movie was all too real.

My only complaints were the muddled ending and the Korean translator only translated about 1/4 of what he needed to and no one seemed to notice or care.

B+

Jon

7/10/2017 04:53:51 pm

I hate to be that guy, but you've often got to go movie-hunting outside the US for original stories. South Korean directors especially have a reputation for insanity and invention. Anything by Park Chan-wook is a recommend.

7/10/2017 08:32:01 pm

Did anybody watch after the credits? I had no intention to, but was to lazy to reach for the PS4 controller and just let it play through.... then Paul Dano was back on my screen for another scene with K

Jon link

7/10/2017 09:11:09 pm

I didn't expect there to be an after-credits scene, but reading the Wikipedia page prompted me to go back and rewatch. Shrug. It only works as foreshadowing for a sequel, and it's inconceivable for Bong to return to this. Keep the crazy ideas coming, don't add more to one that already exists.

7/13/2017 06:32:46 pm

Depends how crazy he wanted to get... Superpig rebellion, I'm here for that!

Lane Joon-ho

7/11/2017 12:05:42 am

“Okja” is a postmodern re-creation of a century-plus old narrative tradition—food industry muckraking. Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was the chief progenitor in 1906. The most recent cinematic descendants have mostly been documentaries—“Super Size Me” and “Food Inc” come to mind. Richard Linklater’s “Fast Food Nation” was a notable fictional narrative entry, though it’s most impactful scenes were real-life footage from a slaughterhouse (and I’ll forever have the image of a cow having all its skin ripped off seared in my mind, so thanks for that).

What makes “Okja” different is that those films, and Sinclair’s original novel, were all chiefly polemical. “Okja,” on the other hand, is making an argument, no doubt, but packaging it in the guise of a Pixar movie. It’s “Finding Nemo” if that film had been about the sea food industry and Nemo had been prison raped. So postmodern.

Our podcast reviewers were all pretty high on this film, and I join their praise. Bong Joon-ho is certainly an auteur and it’s both a boon and a shame that directors who want to tell unique and original stories can only chiefly get those stories told with Silicon Valley money. I’m glad these movies can still be made, but I keep my flag planted in the big-screen-is-better camp. Darius Khondji’s cinematography, especially in the Korean scenes, would have looked stunning in a theater.

I’m not as big a Tilda Swinton fan as our podcast reviewers, but I’ll admit I struggle to think of another actor that could have pulled off the Lucy/Nancy roles. Jake Gyllenhaal was, unfortunately, just miscast in his role as Dr. Johnny. He’s best in the brooding male lead, and that role just didn’t exist in this film. Ewan MacGregor would have been a better choice. An Seo Hyun (or however her name is supposed to be spelled), playing Mija, was pretty great, and while I also won’t comment on the CGI, it was believable enough for what this film asked of it. When the baby pig slips through the electric wire at the end, I admit, a bacon shaped tear might have dropped from my eyes. That’s enough realism for me.

While I have no plans to give up red meat, or the other white meat, anytime in the near future, I’m empathetic to the film’s argument. But also admit I like shopping at Kroger. I might one day become a 60 year old hippie that practices my principles, but that day isn’t here yet, and “Okja” is a well made, well directed, and well acted film, but it didn’t necessarily move me any closer to a principled point.

Grade: B+

P.S. – The Alabama slagging must end. I can think of at least 3 places of interest that anyone should stop at in Alabama, and we have at least the 2nd best gas station BBQ in the nation (behind Louisiana). Also, I’ve been swimming in Alabama ponds and lakes since I was baptized and have zero pond scum issues in my hair.

7/12/2017 01:11:58 pm

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gulf Shores as an Alabama destination for Spring Break. I've never been but some people go there.

7/12/2017 01:26:27 pm

I believe I mentioned this as a place I visited as a kid when we started trashing all things Alabama.

Drew

8/9/2017 09:09:24 am

Eh, it was all right but meh.

Grade: B-/C+

Cooker

8/30/2017 12:21:33 pm

I watched the first half of Okja on my flight out to Dallas and the second half on the way back. I agree with a lot of the comments already posted. Foreign films are where to turn for more original content, Jake Gyllenhaal was miscast, Paul Dano was good, as always; it was also nice seeing other familiar faces: Tilda Swinton as the villain (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Steven Yeun (the Walking Dead), Devon Bostick (the 100), and Lily Collins (daughter of Phil Collins) as members of ALF.

The most emotional scene of the movie for me was toward the end in the slaughterhouse. I don’t know whether this scene worked toward the end of the movie or if it would’ve had more motive and effect appearing earlier. I did, however, like how the movie ended; although the post-credit scene was rather pointless in my book. An American movie would have Mija going back to the States to take down the corporation for good. This isn’t always reality.

Although escape attempt after escape attempt got a little repetitive for me, I still thought the movie flowed well. Good effort, solid B here.

Okja

B
3.11

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Okja

B3.11

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B
3.11