2017 Movie
Dir. Bong Joon-ho & Joon-ho Bong · Korea, South Korea · English, Korean
Director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) does something quite amazing with the $50 million budget Netflix gave him: he makes a simplistic movie. But man, is it good. Okja tells the story of a “super pig” experiment that sends genetically modified pigs to top farmers around the world. In Korea, a farmer’s granddaughter forms a special relationship with one of these super pigs (Okja). When the company who originally ran the experiment want their pig back (performances by Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton) – the two find an ally in an animal advocacy group led by Jay (Paul Dano). This is a straightforward movie, but nevertheless it is entertaining and full of thought-provoking themes and performances from an excellent cast.
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
"What makes the jumble cohere, as usual with Bong, is his extraordinary grasp of space and speed, especially in the Korean half of the film."
— Anthony Lane
"Big fun, but not quite the clean hit delivered by Bong's last few films."
— David Jenkins
Cannes
1 nom
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is US-based and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
First, this is not a movie for kids – please be aware of that. It contains a bit of violence and while it doesn’t show anything offensive, it’s really sad! Other than that I found it to be a good movie, it functions as a captivating science-fiction movie, and it has an interesting premise.
Brilliant. Makes one truly awaken to being conscious of one’s own food choices & question who is sub-consciously choosing them for us. This movie asks you these questions & more in such a humane way. In my top 5 of the year.
This movie was so very original, it was heavy into cultural awareness not only showing reality but also by showing mock attempts to imitate it. You do not learn a lot about any individual character but you learn everything you need to know.
Okja is very conscious and very well done. It cast an actual light in a dramatic way that gets the point across. Be aware of food processing, and societal manipulation.
The underlying themes of friendship, love, and perseverance are heart-wrenching in this film; showing real family dysfunction, broken promises, and of course forgiveness. 9/10
This movie just made me laugh. Very creative depiction some of the extreme views in society today and the people behind them. Destined to be a comedic classic.
This movie touched my heart. Now my heart stop. Now I sue the movie. Too good. Too true. Still waiting for my 5 Million dollars..