A plucky youngster striving to save a beloved creature from harm is a familiar enough story. Yet Bong Joon Ho’s bizarre tale of a 13-year-old girl and a giant super-pig is quite unique, even if it does share some cinematic DNA with Spielberg’s E.T. and a host of other films.
Loveable, loyal and highly intelligent, Okja the super-pig is as big as a hippo and has been reared for ten years in the idyllic mountains of South Korea by orphaned Mija (An Seo Hyun) and her grandfather (Byun Heebong). But Okja is part of a global contest to combat world hunger devised by a colossal multinational corporation headed by Tilda Swinton’s purportedly idealistic CEO. Now, the company wants to return Okja to New York for the climax of the competition.
Rambunctious havoc
Mija’s efforts to be reunited with Okja, which involve her with a rag-tag band of animal-rights activists led by Paul Dano’s apologetic eco-terrorist Jay, go from episodes of slapstick adventure – including some rambunctious havoc in a Korean shopping mall – to far darker sequences in New York.
The film’s shifts in mood, from cute antics to bleak drama, via farcical comedy and anti-capitalist satire, will disconcert viewers looking for family-friendly fun. Okja the film isn’t always as cuddly as its animal protagonist. And Jake Gyllenhaal’s OTT performance as a squeaky voiced TV celebrity vet, the corporation’s public face, is immensely annoying. But that won’t stop you rooting for Mija and Okja, who is in any case an astonishing CGI creation. And there’s no denying the film provides enough food for thought to make you think twice about that next bacon sandwich.
Certificate 15. Runtime 131 mins. Director Bong Joon Ho
Okja debuts on Netflix on Wednesday 28 June.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCebKn4iic
