Review of Okja (2017) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

After her best friend, a megapig named Okja is kidnapped by an organisation trying to solve world hunger, a young girl named Mija (Ahn Seo Hyne) must join forces with a group of animal activists to save her friend from certain death...

South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho takes the E.T formula to new heights with this touching, yet brutal film about how far it's characters are willing to go to save Mija's friend. Although the plot itself doesn't really offer much surprises, the journey itself does end being a lot more violent and thought-provoking in it's depiction of it's setpieces and the consequences of the characters actions.

Young talent Ahn Seo Hyne is fantastic as the no nonsense Mija, Tilda Swinton is delightfully entertaining in playing two evil CEOs and Jake Gyllenhall steals the show as the spokesperson for the company. Although the rest of the cast aren't as memorable about from the instantly recognisable Shirly Henderson, the mixing of American and Korean actors is done well.

Overall, Okja is a great example of how filmmakers have been reinventing the "Kid meets creature" sub-genre while also staying true to the genre's ideals, although this one may be a little too intense for families to handle.