Review of Okja (2017) by Robby K — 07 Sep 2017
Following up 2014's "Snowpiercer" Bong Joon-ho continues his trend of odd, but interesting stories this time following a young girl and her "Superpig" named Okja. Seo-hyeon Ahn leads the film exceedingly well, but it's the visuals that steal the show.
The cinematography is beautiful, and Okja looks like she could be a real animal. The crazy adventure Mija (Ahn) goes on to get Okja back shifts tones seamlessly, and has you rooting for the protagonist the entire time.
However, the statement the film tries to make doesn't feel as powerful as it should. You do get the feelings that the filmmakers wanted, but not as intensely as it needed to be in order to truly stick out.
If the point was to show us the horrors of eating animals (Not saying that was the point, just what I perceived it to be), go all out. I got the point, but I need some conviction. There is some seriously dark imagery here, but the creators seem to back off a little at times as if they're afraid to really go through with it all.
Ultimately Okja is a visually pleasing film with interesting characters, a solid lead protagonist, and enough creativity to counteract its random cautiousness.
This review of Okja (2017) was written by Robby K on 07 Sep 2017.
Okja has generally received very positive reviews.
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