'Okja' is endearing, exhilarating adventure

By Jason Bechervaise

With a new film from Korea’s revered Bong Joon-ho comes a new chapter in his illustrious career. From his feature debut “Barking Dogs Never Bite” through to his latest adventure “Okja” they all exhibit his eccentricity and his appetite for social and political satire, yet all six of his films are very distinctive.

Coming four years after Bong’s dystopian sci-fi feature “Snowpiercer,” Bong once again tackles the subject of capitalism and greed that serves as one of the film’s focal themes, but he also chooses to focus on the relationship between a young girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) and her best friend, Okja.

In the mountains of South Korea, Mija along with her grandfather (Byun Hee-bong) have been taking care of a giant animal, which has been genetically engineered by multinational conglomerate, Mirando Corporation headed by CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton). They have created 26 “super-pigs” to combat global hunger.

Ten years after their super-pigs were sent to be raised in different parts of the world; the corporation, joined by a charismatic Mr. Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal) a TV animal pundit, comes to Mija’s home to take Okja back to New York. Mija is taken away by her grandfather only to realize that her best friend is now on the road.

Evidently upset and angry, the tenacious Mija heads to Seoul in search for Okja. There she comes into contact with a group of animal rights activists called the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) headed by a seemingly passive Jay (Paul Dano), before Lucy Mirando sees an opportunity to bring Mija to New York for the grand unveiling of Okja.

The backdrops of Bong’s films are often notable as he cleverly takes a setting like the turbulent 1980s in “Memories of Murder” or the geopolitical backdrop in “The Host” and connects with it the film’s main narrative giving his films an abundance of layers. He even takes it a step further as he plays with genre conventions to enhance its meaning like how “The Host” rejects characteristics seen in American genre films.

In “Okja” he juxtaposes the compassion audiences are sure to feel for Okja with a more brutal backdrop in which conglomerates continue to remain dominant and oppressive, and where little thought is given to where the meat we eat comes from. In effect, it could make viewers feel conflicted and uncomfortable, especially for those who often find themselves eating copious amounts of meat.

This juxtaposition is reminiscent of “Memories of Murder” where Bong paints a very bleak picture of the 1980s characterized by suppression but the film’s final scenes unveil the exponential economic growth Korea experienced in the space of just several decades.

Bong refrains from sweeping judgements; instead choosing to convey the callous nature of society, but also accepts that capitalism remains a prominent part in many of the world’s countries including Korea. Bong is fully aware that such a system allows films, such as “Okja” and “Snowpiercer,” to be made on large budgets and hence the ambivalence that characterizes many of his films. He thus explores the innate darkness in us all.

Bong’s films are always exceptionally well put together and “Okja” is no exception with his iconic attention to detail through the film’s elaborate mise-en-scene.

Beautifully shot, especially in Korea’s idyllic mountainous terrain, while the film’s urban scenes in Seoul and New York capture the more chaotic nature of Bong’s films so brilliantly orchestrated in a frantic chase scene, set in Seoul’s Myeong-dong district, which is also superbly edited.

The visual effects are authentic without coming across as too CGI heavy. “Okja” which is part hippo and part pig is no monster and somewhat adorable. The chemistry Mija shares with her best friend, or younger sister is as authentic and touching as it gets.

In terms of the performances despite being the less experienced, Ahn Seo-hyun is the one who shines and is surely destined to be a major star over the coming years. Nuanced, energetic and agile, she is naturally gifted to command a palpable presence when she is alone on screen or is joined by Okja or even her Hollywood co-stars.

Out of the non-Korean talent, it is Paul Dano who arguably delivers the strongest performance coming off as natural rather than somewhat animated, which is perhaps true of Jake Gyllenhaal. Yet his delivery also encapsulates the wacky nature of the film coming off as barking mad to some viewers, bringing to mind Bong’s feature debut “Barking Dogs Never Bite,” which incidentally features dog meat.

But for all its similarities to his other films, this is also a very different film for Bong as he continues to challenge even his own idiosyncratic style, entering into another new chapter.

Already second in the local pre-sale reservation chart despite the decision by major exhibitors not to screen it, it underscores how Bong’s films are game-changers in the Korean and global film industry. Frankly, resistance is futile. Endearing and exhilarating in equal measure “Okja” is the best film of 2017 thus far.

“Okja”comes to Netflix and selected cinemas in Korea on June 29.

Jason Bechervaise is a movie columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at jase@koreanfilm.org.uk.