Okja: Review

Okja (aka the second film in which Tilda Swinton plays feuding twins) is the latest film from popular South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. Following a young girl named Mija on a journey to find her beloved Super Pig from the hands of psychotic greedy corporate scumbags. If that sounds (no pun intended) ham-fisted and preachy, that's because it really is.

Okja starts out very cute and enjoyable in all the ways that I expected, the comparisons to Miyazaki are very apt and it's because of that tone that I started to really invest in the relationship between Mija and Okja. Once this film takes a turn into developing its narrative, it becomes extremely uneven. It's a commentary/satire on food corporations in the second act and seemingly a vegetarian propaganda film in the third act. I liked the film when it was playing more towards somewhat light-hearted satire, it was original and still had the fun quality that the first act had. The third act isn't necessarily bad but it feels like such an aggressive and disturbing left turn and the message and morals become more excessive and exhausting. However, the film makes up for it with its peaceful and heartwarming final moments and a hugely satisfying post-credit scene that all of you need to stay for. This cast is impressive and their mostly all fantastic with the exception of Jake Gyllenhaal who, by now, notoriously dials his performance up WAY too fucking high. He feels like a comedic relief anime character while everyone else feels like a real human being, it's a dedicated and amusing performance but it doesn't fit well enough.

It makes me happy to see Netflix actually release something worthwhile after the colossal misfire that was War Machine. If you have Netflix, then you have absolutely no reason not to watch this delightfully entertaining, poignant, and urgent affair from one of the world's best absurdist directors. Okja is, unsurprisingly, one of the highlights of this summer thus far. (8.25/10)